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SAFE Selects Cybertrust to Deliver Architecture for Providing Seamless Interoperability of Electronic Identity Credentials

Selection of Technology Provider Speeds Up Industry Initiative to Solve Fundamental Business Challenge

SAFE-BioPharma, Inc., an organization dedicated to managing a digital signature standard for worldwide use by the biopharmaceutical industry, today announced that it has selected Cybertrust Inc., a global provider of information security products and services, to develop and implement the technical infrastructure needed to support interoperability among disparate public key infrastructures (PKIs) within the Secure Access for Everyone (SAFE) network. SAFE is a technology standard that helps the biopharmaceutical industry implement legally enforceable and regulatory compliant digital signatures for business-to-business and business-to-regulator transactions.

"Identity management is a fundamental challenge for the biopharmaceutical industry," said Gary Secrest, director of World Wide Information Security at Johnson & Johnson and chairman of the SAFE initiative. "Disparate trust systems and identity processes are creating unnecessary legal and operating costs and are preventing the industry from working together on a global basis. By forming SAFE and selecting Cybertrust as our bridge vendor, we are moving closer toward building a common trust infrastructure and solving this critical business problem."

The SAFE standard consists of policies, procedures, guidelines, technical specifications and a legal and liability risk management framework for ensuring the security and validity of electronic data exchange and submissions. The SAFE network is designed to assure the identities of its subscribers while reducing the risks and costs associated with creating legally enforceable digital signatures.

"This large-scale undertaking has not been attempted before because the cost and complexity of overhauling the existing process and achieving technological interoperability was viewed as a major roadblock," Secrest noted. "Cybertrust provides the platform for the SAFE Bridge to leverage an organization's existing infrastructure and offer a trusted environment that allows investigators and business partners to operate without compromising confidentiality."

The SAFE Bridge Certification Authority (CA) accredits certified issuers to provide credentials that are compliant with SAFE standards, which support strong authentication and legally enforceable digital signatures across healthcare industry business applications. Cybertrust's UniCERT® product will provide the core PKI technology framework for creating the trust model to exchange information, and certifying that other PKIs within the SAFE network are secure.

"We understand the critical need for a common trust infrastructure that allows pharmaceuticals with disparate PKIs to work together in a compatible but secure environment," said Matthew Tuttle, vice president for Identity Management Services at Cybertrust, Inc. "Our UniCERT product line and related services have been successfully deployed on a global basis, just as this initiative will ensure secure interoperability for the PKIs and digital credentials issued by SAFE members. Cybertrust is honored to be given the opportunity to build this platform for SAFE."

"The cooperation between SAFE and Cybertrust signifies that the biopharmaceutical community has come together to encourage a standard that streamlines the process for bringing drugs to market by simplifying and securing the process for exchanging electronic information," said Colleen P. McMahon, Manager, GlaxoSmithKline Development and Commercial Strategy IT.

About Cybertrust

Cybertrust is a global provider of information security, providing a unique mix of processes, products, and people to enable enterprises and government agencies to secure and manage their IT infrastructure. With over 15 years of proven experience, Cybertrust is the first company to comprehensively address the entire security lifecycle by providing offerings for each of the four critical security domains of identity, threat, vulnerability, and compliance management. These offerings leverage Cybertrust's unmatched security knowledge and intelligence gathering resources, which includes ICSA Labs®, the global leader in information security product certification. Headquartered in Herndon, VA, with more than 30 offices around the globe, Cybertrust is the trusted advisor for information security to over 4,000 customers worldwide.

About SAFE

The SAFE (Secure Access for Everyone) coalition was founded by eight global pharmaceutical organizations including AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer Inc, Procter & Gamble and Sanofi-Aventis, to develop SAFE as a bio-pharmaceutical industry trust standard. The mission of SAFE is to deliver unique electronic identity credentials for legally enforceable and regulatory compliant electronic signatures across the global biopharmaceutical environment. The SAFE standard is intended for business-to-business, and business-to-regulator transactions. SAFE-BioPharma, Inc. is a not-for-profit limited liability company created to support the widespread adoption of the global digital identity standard and offers a variety of membership options for organizations seeking to join or leverage the SAFE standard.

For more information, visit www.safe-biopharma.org.

Distributed by Market Wire