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Kansas Bureau of Investigation Launches Secure Web-Based Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Applications Using Entrust Technologies' and Check Point Software Technologies' Integrated VPN Solutions

2,500-seat project in progress in Kansas City and Topeka with  full implementation of 12,000 seats by the year 2000

Richardson, Texas – Entrust Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: ENTU), the global leader in managed public-key infrastructures (PKI), and Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKPF), the worldwide leader in secure enterprise networking solutions, today announced that the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is utilizing both companies' technologies for its virtual private network (VPN)-based criminal justice information system over an open network. KBI leveraged Entrust's PKI solutions and the Check Point VPN-1™ Software product line to deploy a scalable certificate management and centralized key backup and recovery for KBI's first-ever statewide criminal justice secure VPN implementation.

Consequently, criminal histories that previously took days or weeks to access are now readily available to Kansas' criminal justice agencies in minutes via the Internet. Using security and VPN hardware and software solutions, Kansas criminal justice officers can now securely access vital information with the assurance that all their communications, including email, are encrypted and will not fall into the wrong hands. This is especially important where timely and reliable information concerning a suspect can mean the difference between life and death. Estimates are that up to 750 criminal justice agencies will use the new system by the year 2000 with the number of users growing to 12,000 or more.

Through this new VPN-based system, which employs the state's shared network and common ISP's, Kansas' criminal justice agencies and the state will avoid an estimated $2.5 million a year in costs that would have been generated had the system utilized a private network.

"The interoperability between Entrust and Check Point products, along with their low cost implementation, were key criteria in our decision to utilize Entrust and Check Point together," said Ron Rohrer, Information Resource Manager of Kansas Bureau of Investigation. "On top of that, both companies have earned reputations as premier security providers in the marketplace."

"We are excited with the prospect and opportunity in providing premier PKI solutions to the highly-visible law enforcement profession," said John Ryan, President and CEO of Entrust Technologies. "This latest project further validates the importance of digital certificates to create a secure VPN environment. It is also a recognition that PKI technology is applicable and needed in all sectors."

"KBI's selection of Check Point VPN-1 Software product line as the foundation for its state-wide implementation is a testament to the market-leading access control, strong authentication, privacy and scalability delivered today by the Check Point and Entrust best-of-breed product interoperability," said Asheem Chandna, vice-president of marketing and business development for Check Point Software Technologies, Inc. "We are honored to be included in this groundbreaking implementation which serves as a model for law enforcement agencies around the world."

FishNet Consulting, one of the leading resellers and integrators of Internet solutions in Kansas, designed and deployed a best-of-breed solution to solidify KBI's VPN infrastructure. The VPN project utilizes Check Point Software's VPN-1 solutions and Entrust/PKI technology to provide secure, encrypted remote access as well as ISS's Real Secure technology for security intrusion detection.

"The combination of Entrust/PKI and Check Point's VPN-1 products will provide KBI with a firm security solution within its VPN network from multiple points," said Gary Fish, CEO of FishNet Consulting. "By tapping the capabilities of an Internet-based VPN, KBI can drastically increase the speed, security and affordability with which criminal data is transmitted to remote officers."

The Evolution of KBI's New VPN Network

The old network that is being replaced with the new secure VPN system is a 4.8K SNA dedicated network linked to the state message switch. Today, approximately 270 criminal justice agencies and 4,000 individual users access this older system which had proved problematic in the past as it could not transmit images such as fingerprints and mug shots.

The new TCP/IP network system utilizes the state's shared telecommunications network to provide quicker delivery of information to each of the 105 Kansas counties. Because the Kansas applications will be web based and capable of transmitting images, it is estimated that up to 750 criminal justice agencies will use the new system by the year 2000.

Current FBI policy states that federal criminal information cannot be transmitted over the Internet, unless the state can provide sufficient assurances that adequate security is in place to safeguard the data. Kansas contracted with Paradigm4, Inc. a New Jersey-based vendor that develops and implements criminal justice applications and message switches, to re-engineer, develop and implement an electronic information system. This effort culminated in a security report that was authored by Paradigm4 Inc and submitted to the FBI. The KBI then contracted Missouri-based FishNet Consulting Inc. to finalize, implement and maintain the completed security configuration. In November of 1998 the KBI and FishNet presented the implemented configuration to a national security sub-committee.

The combination of Entrust's PKI technology with Check Point VPN-1 in the KBI project is one of the many successes attained by both companies this year. In February, Entrust Technologies and Check Point integrated their market-leading products to provide unified enterprise security solutions include firewalls, VPNs and remote access with a single-PKI for users.

 

About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. is the worldwide leader in secure enterprise networking solutions. The company's integrated architecture includes network security (FireWall-1, VPN-1 and Open Security Manager), traffic control (FloodGate-1 and ConnectControl) and IP address management (Meta IP). All of the Check Point solutions enable customers to implement centralized policy-based management with enterprise-wide distributed deployment.

Check Point VPN-1 software and hardware solutions provide secure Internet-based connectivity to corporate networks, remote and mobile users, satellite offices and partner sites. Additionally, these solutions integrate advanced virtual private networking as a core component of an overall security policy and support Check Point's Open Platform for Secure Enterprise Connectivity (OPSEC) for integrating best-of-breed applications from leading security and networking vendors. The company has U.S. headquarters in Redwood City, California and international headquarters in Ramat-Gan, Israel. For more information, please call 800-429-4391 or 650-628-2000 or visit http://www.checkpoint.com or http://www.opsec.com

 

About FishNet

FishNet Consulting, Inc. is a leading provider of security solutions throughout the Midwest. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, FishNet has provided leading edge security implementations and managed Firewall services throughout the United States and beyond. By partnering with industry leaders in Network Security, FishNet has been able to establish itself as a leader in the integration and implementation of Best of Breed Security products. FishNet Consulting was a recipient of a 1998 "Check Point Partner Excellence Award" for its implementation of various OPSEC partners products, including Entrust/PKI, at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. For more information please visit http://www.kcfishnet.com.

 

About KBI

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) was established in 1939 by the Kansas Legislature to combat the increasing magnitude and complexity of crime in general and bank robberies in particular. When established, the KBI was directed to conduct investigations at the request of the Attorney General and local law enforcement and to maintain state criminal justice records. Later, the KBI laboratory was added and the KBI, traditionally, has also assisted in the training of local law enforcement officers and provided crime trend information to public officials, local law enforcement and citizens.

 

About Paradigm4 Inc.

Paradigm4, based in Fairfield, New Jersey, is a systems integration and outsourcing company providing end-to-end wireless solutions for the mobile computing marketplace. The company has extensive experience in the public safety sector including major state switch and outsourcing projects that provide wireless data access to federal/state/local law enforcement personnel. Through expert wireless systems integration services and applications, Paradigm4 offers its customers advanced data collection outsourcing, wireless software applications solutions and wireless intranet service for a variety of vertical markets using both public and private radio network carriers.

 

About Entrust Technologies

Entrust Technologies Inc. develops, markets and sells products and services that allow enterprises to manage trusted, secure electronic communications and transactions over today's advanced networks, including the Internet, extranets and intranets. The Entrust solution automates the management of digital certificates, which are similar to electronic passports, through public-key infrastructure (PKI) technology designed to assure the privacy and authenticity of internal and external electronic communications.

The Entrust PKI is an integrated, open and scalable software framework that operates across multiple platforms, network devices and applications, including e-mail, browsers, electronic commerce, electronic forms, remote access and other product offerings from leading vendors. The first Entrust product suite was released in 1994, and has since been licensed for use in global enterprises, government entities and financial institutions. In addition, over three million Entrust certificates have been issued to date for use by the Company's customers. Entrust Technologies is headquartered in Richardson, Texas with offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, St. Louis, Raleigh, Washington, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, London, UK and Frankfurt. For additional company information please visit www.entrust.com.

Entrust is a registered trademark of Entrust Technologies Limited. All Entrust product names are trademarks of Entrust Technologies Limited. All other company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Check Point, the Check Point logo, ConnectControl, FireWall-1, FloodGate-1, INSPECT, Meta IP, Open Security Manager, OPSEC, RemoteLink, SecuRemote, VPN-1, UAM and IQ Engine are trademarks or registered trademarks of Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. All other product names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.