PRESS RELEASE: July 7, 2008

NIST Workshop Highlights Adoption of Identity-Based Encryption

Palo Alto, California–July 7, 2008–Voltage Security, Inc., (www.voltage.com), a global leader in information encryption, today summarized the results from the recent National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) sponsored workshop: Applications of Pairing Based Cryptography: Identity-Based Encryption and Beyond, recognizing that significant progress has been made in the adoption of Identity-Based Encryption (IBE) as an alternative approach to securing sensitive information.

 Voltage Security joined leading practitioners of Identity-Based Encryption, including cryptographers, researchers, members of government organizations such as N.S.A, U.S. Navy, and Social Security Administration, commercial organizations as well as representatives from security solution providers.
Topics discussed included:

• Recent research results on pairing-based cryptography and IBE.
• Performance and implementation details of IBE systems.
• New applications utilizing pairing-based cryptography and IBE.
• Future of Identity-Based Encryption.

In addition, the topic of “Whether or Not IBE is Needed” was discussed by a panel consisting of top security experts including Terence Spies, CTO of Voltage Security, noted researcher Brent Waters, SRI International, public-key expert Jon Callas, CTO of PGP Inc., and  widely respected computer scientist and Sun Fellow,  Radia Perlman.  There was extensive discussion around the “intrinsic” value of IBE versus PKI. 

The following core capabilities of IBE were identified:

• Offline encryption improves scalability.
• No pre-enrollment requirements support dynamic coalitions and ad hoc messages.
• Use of identity drives support for groups, organizational mailboxes and protection of portal content.
• Stateless key management reduces management overhead and facilitates disaster recovery.
• IBE’s inherent key recovery simplifies implementation design and execution.

The discussion pointed out that traditional PKI approaches, or approaches that emulate PKI, cannot achieve these same capabilities without adding design, code, and implementation complexity that often limits scalability and increases overall maintenance costs.

"Research into Identity-Based Encryption and pairing-based cryptography continues to uncover new applications.  It is exciting to see the rapid commercial adoption of IBE which leads to better and easier protection of sensitive information. The benefits of IBE make it possible to advance beyond current public-key approaches,” said Dan Boneh, associate professor, computer science and electrical engineering, Stanford University, co-inventor, IBE and co-founder, Voltage Security.

Commercial success of IBE  

Over 550 enterprises, a 6 million user community, and both product and managed service based implementations were highlighted from vendors such as:  Canon, Code Green Networks, , Microsoft, NTT Communications, Proofpoint, Secure Computing, Sprint, Trend Micro, and Voltage Security.

The conference was keynoted by Dr. Matt Franklin, a professor of computer science at University of California, Davis and co-inventor of Identity-Based Encryption. Overall the conference was a success in highlighting the rapid impact that IBE has had and the role it plays in the future to augment and carry forward the mission that PKI originally intended to fulfill.

About Voltage Security

Voltage Security, Inc., an enterprise security company, is the global leader in information encryption. Voltage solutions, based on next generation cryptography, provide encryption that just works for protecting valuable, regulated and sensitive information persistently and based on policy. Voltage delivers power, simplicity and the lowest total cost of ownership in the industry through the use of award-winning Voltage Identity-Based Encryption™ (IBE) and a new breakthrough innovation: Format-Preserving Encryption (FPE). Voltage Security offerings include Voltage SecureMail™, Voltage SecureData™ and the Voltage Security Network™ (VSN), an on-demand managed service for the extended business network.

Voltage Security is the number one OEM provider of email encryption technology in the world with OEMs that include Microsoft, Proofpoint, Secure Computing, Sendmail, Canon, Code Green Networks and NTT Communications. Customers include Global 1000 companies in banking, retail, insurance, energy, healthcare and government, such as American Board of Family Medicine, Diebold, Integro Insurance Brokers, NTT Communications, SafeAuto Insurance, Winterthur Life UK Ltd. and XL Global Services. For more information please visit http://www.voltage.com.

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