Wave Systems Corp. (fka WAVXQ)

[Da_Deven_Dolla]

The NTRU TSS or CTSS does appear to include the necessary components for vendors to write applications that take advantage of the TPM without having to use Wave's CSP. The announcement below really appeared to be a sales pitch to application vendors that the tools exist for them to begin to write to the TCG standard. Although NTRU and Wave say it's a partnership, it doesn't appear that anything is being packaged together or that NTRU is using Wave technology in their TSS or vice versa.

The reason I bring up the point is only that I believe it was thought by many on this board that all application vendors would have to go through Wave to write their applications. Although the diagram in VH article shows this is not the case, a vendor would still need the backup and recovery tools that only Wave offers. And I guess that's the beauty of this partnership announced a year ago. Only problem...the announcement says nothing about the backup tools.

Wave Systems and NTRU Partner to Offer Comprehensive, Cross-Platform Software Solutions for Trusted Computing Markets

LEE & BURLINGTON, MA – February 23, 2004 – Wave Systems Corp. (NASDAQ: WAVX – www.wave.com), and NTRU today announced that they have teamed up to provide a cross-platform software solution for trusted personal computers. The secure software from the two companies is designed to work with multiple-vendor Trusted Computing Group (TCG)-compliant security chips now available for personal computers. By making available multiple-security chip software from each company, PC OEMs and chip manufacturers can have more options in the secure solutions they provide to customers.

The TCG Software Stack (TSS) from NTRU and the EMBASSY® Trust Suite of secure software solutions from Wave are designed to work on a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) from any manufacturer compatible with TCG hardware specification version 1.1b and next generation TPMs compliant with specification 1.2. This interoperability gives the hardware manufacturer flexibility for their trusted hardware.

Wave and NTRU offer TPM manufacturers and PC OEMs a complete software solution from the device driver layer (NTRU) to the application layer (Wave). This complete software solution works with a TPM embedded inside a PC. The TPM serves as the secure core for an enhanced services platform specified by the Trusted Computing Group. TPMs provide the resources used by the software to implement secure functions within a PC.

"We believe the market for PCs containing TPMs is rapidly gaining momentum. Hardware providers entering the Trusted Computing market need security experts that are delivering innovative, leading-edge solutions and who understand the security and privacy requirements of this space. NTRU and Wave have extensive embedded security experience to provide hardware manufacturers and OEMs with a comprehensive and interoperable suite of infrastructure applications," said Brian Berger, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Wave Systems.

"Our partnership with Wave underlines our commitment to providing comprehensive trusted computing solutions for all our clients," said Ed King, CEO of NTRU. "With Wave, we are able to roll out a solution for trusted computing platforms that helps our clients quickly and efficiently bring TCG enabled products to the market."

The NTRU Core TCG Software Stack is designed in accordance with the TCG TSS standard and is enhanced with strong, standards compliant cryptographic libraries. The CTSS provides a set of software components that allows applications and peripherals to take advantage of a platform's TPM hardware module in a coordinated, consistent, and portable manner.

Wave's EMBASSY Trust Suite (ETS) includes a suite of principal services and key management capabilities: Document Manager Vault for securing files and folders, SmartSignature for digital signature capability for secure electronic contracts, and Private Information Manager for secure storage and management of user names, passwords and personal information. Private Information Manager intelligently retrieves data for use in web pages, logging into web sites, or for filling forms.