Customers can now achieve high levels of security and performance for their middle office Java environment by migrating to hardware security.

London : Thales today announced the launch of its new hardware security toolkit for developers and implementers of Java applications. The WebSentry hardware cryptographic platform provides the highest level of security for e-business transactions and other online applications. Integrating seamlessly into any Java environment, the new interface vastly improves both the security and the performance of middle office applications. It does this by allowing the applications' cryptographic keys to be generated, stored and used within the certified tamper-resistant area of the WebSentry cryptographic hardware. By using the WebSentry hardware and its Java interface, all sensitive information necessary for running middleware applications securely can be protected against eavesdropping, denial of service or integrity-based attacks, which has become a critical requirement for all online applications.

WebSentry meets the need for highly secure, tamper-resistant middle office hardware security modules that can protect the keys and processes associated with e-business transactions. In addition, WebSentry is able to dramatically accelerate cryptographic processes, resulting in a massive improvement in the application's performance. Its highly scalable infrastructure also allows modules to be added for increased performance without the need for changes to the calling application.

With the new WebSentry Java interface, Java environment users are now provided with a cost-effective, high-security alternative to software-based security solutions, especially in mission critical environments such as web-enabled application servers. The Java interface to WebSentry provides all the improvements in security, performance and flexibility of integration associated with cryptographic hardware platforms to protect Java-based applications. Providing multiple interfaces as standard, to facilitate integration, it gives developers the choice of application environment, for their security implementation such as standard Java Developer Kit and J2EE environments or the standard Java Cryptographic Extensions (JCE) interface.

Paul Meadowcroft, head of transaction security for the e-Security activities of Thales, said: “The release of this toolkit reflects the growing importance of open technologies for developing online applications and the importance of the middle office for processing e-business transactions. We are responding to the growing need among our customers for highly secure Java-based e-business applications and are convinced that the WebSentry Java interface will be well received by developers and implementers.”

About Thales
Thales is an international electronics and systems group, serving defence, aerospace, services and security markets. The group employs 61,500 people worldwide and generated revenues of 10.6 billion in 2003.

Operating in three main markets covering e-security, card payment and network security, Thales' e-Security activities address the business, government and finance industries' need for cryptographic security products and solutions. Over half of the world's banks, together with the majority of the busiest exchanges, currently use Thales technology. For more than 20 years the company has been at the forefront of security and payment technology, co-operating and contributing to set the industry standards used for financial transactions and e-commerce globally. Thales e-Security activities offer a wide range of security solutions to protect Government and Defence critical information infrastructures, thereby positioning the company as a leading worldwide supplier of certified network security products.

Contact details for Thales

Claire Topping
Thales e-Security
+44 (0)1844 204156
claire.topping@thales-esecurity.com

Scott McLean
Hotwire
+44 (0) 20 7608 4643
scott.mclean@hotwirepr.com