SAN MATEO, California and WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana—Feb. 14, 2006 — TriCipher, Inc., a leading provider of future proof, risk based authentication solutions and Arxan, Inc., a leading provider of software and hardware anti-tamper solutions, have announced the integration of the TriCipher Armored Credential System (TACS) solution with the Arxan Attestor. This joint solution ensures the authentication process is not compromised by malware that is present on a user's computer. Many types of malware, including the Mytob-GK worm and the Dasher virus, turn off security programs such as anti-virus software or personal firewalls without the user knowing. If this remains undetected at the time of authentication, the user's credential could be stolen, or malware could take over the user's session. By integrating Arxan's Attestor into TACS, TriCipher and Arxan will deliver the first authentication solution that protects the integrity of both the user and the device at the time of logon.

"When logging in to your online bank account, you want to be sure you're protected from fraudulent malware that may already have infected your system — something that traditional authentication mechanisms do not provide," said Becky Bace, CEO, Infidel and noted security expert. "By joining forces, Arxan and TriCipher are going to prevent malware from giving users a false sense of security in order to steal or compromise the integrity of credential or personal information. This kind of forethought from solution providers is exactly what's required to keep hackers at bay."

Leading anti-virus software packages have become the new front-line targets for an increasing number of viruses. In addition, several freely available utilities provide malware authors with new tools that enable malware to evade updated Internet security tools. Once a virus invades and takes administrative privilege over a machine, it can cause the system to lie at will about security features being on or off. Internet security tools today are not built to reliably handle such situations — a traditional tool could show the system in good health when in fact it is not.

"As worms and viruses become more sophisticated and are designed to commit undetected fraud,
it is essential that security solutions address both the nature of the threat and the real-world scenarios in which it can cause harm," said Richard Earley, president and CEO of Arxan Technologies. "The Arxan Attestor provides a robust complement to TriCipher's TACS solution to provide effective protection against evolving malware threats."

Arxan's fortified deployment technology was developed to protect critical IP and applications from organized, professional attackers with full administrative privilege over the system and serves as a trusted sentinel to constantly monitor, record, and reliably report system health information, even after the machine has been compromised. TriCipher's multifactor authentication has led the way in affordability, usability, and security. TriCipher and Arxan together ensure a reliable "health check" of the device at the time of logon, a critical factor when rolling out mass multi-factor authentication deployments.

"We are always looking for ways to close security gaps that could help an attacker compromise a user's credential," said Andy Cottrell, Vice President of Research, Development and Operations for TriCipher. "TriCipher and Arxan together prevent users from being fooled by malware into thinking their computer is clean while logging in to sensitive online services such as banking."