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Cryptography Research Granted Patents for Safer Smart Cards Technology Prevents DPA Attacks to Combat Fraud and Piracy SAN FRANCISCO, April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Cryptography Research, Inc., a leader in advanced security research and engineering, today announced it has been granted several broad patents on technology that reduces fraud and piracy by protecting smart cards and other systems from Differential Power Analysis (DPA) attacks. The company developed the technology to help cryptographic device manufacturers, systems integrators, and smart card issuers develop secure, DPA-resistant implementations for use in financial, pay television, mass transit, secure identification and wireless industries. Differential Power Analysis involves measuring the electrical power consumption of smart cards and other cryptographic devices. Statistical methods are then used to extract cryptographic keys and other secrets. Vulnerable devices are at risk for compromises including fraud, cloning, impersonation, counterfeiting, and piracy. Although DPA attacks typically require technical skill to implement, they can be repeated with a few thousand dollars of standard equipment, and can often break a device in a few minutes. DPA and related attacks were originally discovered at Cryptography Research in the 1990s. "We are proud to have our work recognized by the United State Patent and Trademark Office," said Paul Kocher, president of Cryptography Research. "As a research-focused company, we rely on patents to help us commercialize our results and make our ongoing R&D efforts possible." The Cryptography Research DPA patents broadly cover countermeasures to DPA attacks, and include: -- U.S. Patent #6,654,884: Hardware-level mitigation and DPA countermeasures for cryptographic devices; -- U.S. Patent #6,539,092: Leak-resistant cryptographic indexed key update; -- U.S. Patent #6,510,518: Balanced cryptographic computational method and apparatus for leak minimization in smartcards and other cryptosystems; -- U.S. Patent #6,381,699: Leak-resistant cryptographic method and apparatus; -- U.S. Patent #6,327,661: Using unpredictable information to minimize leakage from smartcards and other cryptosystems; -- U.S. Patent #6,304,658: Leak-resistant cryptographic method and apparatus; -- U.S. Patent #6,298,442: Secure modular exponentiation with leak minimization for smartcards and other cryptosystems; and -- U.S. Patent #6,278,783: DES and other cryptographic, processes with leak minimization for smartcards and other cryptosystems. Other Cryptography Research patents are issued and pending in the United States, Europe, Japan, Canada and other countries. According to the Smart Card Alliance, an industry trade group, the United States became the third largest market for microprocessor smart cards in 2003, and more than 70 million smart cards shipped to the United States and Canada. The Card Industry Directory reported over 1.9 billion worldwide smart card shipments in 2003. About Cryptography Research, Inc. Cryptography Research, Inc. provides consulting services and technology to solve complex security problems. In addition to security evaluation and applied engineering work, CRI is actively involved in long-term research in areas including tamper resistance, content protection, network security, and financial services. The company also produces the DPA Workstation(TM) to help qualified organizations analyze DPA-related security vulnerabilities and improve their use of licensed DPA countermeasures. This year, security systems designed by Cryptography Research engineers will protect more than $60 billion of commerce for wireless, telecommunications, financial, digital television, and Internet industries. For additional information or to arrange a consultation with a member of the technical staff, please contact Jennifer Craft at 415-397-0123 or visit http://www.cryptography.com. SOURCE Cryptography Research, Inc. Web Site: http://www.cryptography.com More news from PR Newswire... Issuers of news releases and not PR Newswire are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content. Terms and conditions, including restrictions on redistribution, apply. Copyright © 1996-2004 PR Newswire Association LLC. All Rights Reserved. A United Business Media company. -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Cryptography Mailing List Unsubscribe by sending "unsubscribe cryptography" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]