This includes Certicom’s Suite B Power Bundle with Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC). Nortel plans to integrate Certicom ECC algorithms into its Application Server 5300, bringing this open, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-based software platform into conformance with US National Security Agency (NSA) recommendations for cryptographic implementation, said Certicom.
Nortel has also licensed Certicom’s Security Builder GSE, which provides a pre-approved FIPS 140-2 cryptographic module for application development, saving both development time and cost of certification.
Nortel Application Server 5300 is designed to provide unified IP telephony, conferencing, voice mail and instant messaging that meets stringent federal government security and service assurance requirements. Certicom’s technology adds a scalable, high-performance crypto system at low cost and with low overhead.
FIPS 140-2 is the security requirement for cryptographic modules as defined by the National Institute of Standards for Technology (NIST). The standard is required for sale of products implementing cryptography to the US Federal Government. Companies that lack a FIPS 140-2 validation and are unable to prove that such a validation is being obtained will not be able to access the government market with their products.
Suite B is the set of cryptographic algorithms recommended by the NSA to secure classified and unclassified communications. In 2005, the NSA recommended ECC as the public key crypto system to protect government communications. Known as Suite B, these recommendations are part of an initiative to upgrade the security infrastructure of government communications to meet present and future security needs. ECC is used in a growing number of sectors ranging from networking, consumer electronics, wireless devices and semiconductors to government and financial services.
Chuck Saffell, CEO of Nortel Government Solutions, said: We’re experts at developing solutions that meet or exceed the most rigorous security requirements. Adding Certicom technology to Nortel’s Application Server 5300 makes a strong solution even stronger for government agencies seeking to maintain high security and reliability while moving their networks to VoIP and Unified Communications.
