Forwarded From: Frans Mulschlegel <Mulschlegel_FJ@compuserve.com>
Forwarded From: Nicholas Charles Brawn <ncb05@uow.edu.au>
SAPHER SERVERS: British company 'unlocks' Open ...
OTC 4/23/98 5:29 AM
APR 22, 1998, M2 Communications - The technical innovation of a British
Company, Sapher Servers Limited, has helped make possible the landmark
announcement by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to connect
Whitehall's classified networks with the Internet. Government computer
systems that process highly classified data have previously had to be
physically separated from any that connect to non-Government systems. One
effect of this policy has been to limit the efficiency of Government users
who routinely want to communicate with outside companies and agencies. The
availability of trusted computing components, such as Sapher Servers'
software, and the advent of the Government Secure Intranet, has meant that
the Government could update its policy in this area. Sapher's secure
messaging software (Secrets& for Exchange) ensures that every individual
Government e-mail message can be tracked back to its author, while its
message filtering technology interoperates with a firewall to guarantee
that classified data does not leak into the outside world.
The need for such connection is clear: open Government requires
Government to establish strong connections with the public and be
accessible themselves. As more of the population of the country is
connected to the Internet at school, at home and in the workplace, there
is no better way to communicate than by e-mail. At the same time the
Government's classified data requires the strongest practical protection
to ensure that sensitive information is not compromised.
Sapher Servers Limited was prime contractor for the project to extend
the Government Secure Intranet (GSI) in this way, and were supported by
Trusted Information Systems (TIS) who supplied their Gauntlet firewall and
mail guard technology. CESG (the information security division of GCHQ)
acted as security advisers and provided key cryptographic software
components.
In an e-mail to Sapher Servers today, the Chancellor of the Duchy of
Lancaster, Rt. Hon. Dr. David Clark, MP wrote: "I would like to thank you
for the work you have done to make the Government Secure Intranet a
reality. It is my aim to make the best use of Information Technology to
deliver open, responsive and simpler Government. I am very pleased you
have been able to provide such an outstanding product to assist us in
achieving such a milestone."
Sapher Servers' Operations Director Andrew Clark commented, "We are
delighted to have led this project. The use of strong cryptography is
pivotal to the success of this work and our solution, fully integrated
with the user's e-mail software, makes it easy for non-Government
departments to use the Internet without compromising security."
How does it work?
Whenever an e-mail message that originates from within the Government
network is prepared for a recipient outside the Government network, the
author is asked to confirm that the content is unclassified and digitally
sign the message to endorse it. The resulting digital signature uniquely
identifies the author and the message content. Messages that are
addressed outside of Government are routed to the mail guard on the
firewall that checks the digital signature and only allows messages to
pass to the recipient if it is not classified and the signature is valid.
Classified messages or those bearing an invalid (or no) digital signature
are quarantined at the mail guard for investigation.
See a. demonstration of the Cabinet Office system at InfoSec '98 The
system as implemented in the Cabinet Office will be demonstrated at the
InfoSec '98 Exhibition at Olympia from the 28th to 30th April.
Sapher Servers and Secrets
Sapher Servers is a UK company, formed in 1994, which specialises in
off-the- shelf and bespoke cryptographic products for the Commercial and
Government marketplace. Sapher Server's products are widely used within UK
Government, as well as blue-chip commercial and financial organisations.
Secrets uses strong cryptography to deliver the highest level of
protection available anywhere in the world. Secrets is a market leading
product and has received numerous awards including Editor's Choice and
Best Buy from Secure Computing magazine.
-o-
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Received on Fri Apr 24 08:41:44 1998