Uniloc StrongPoint Infrastructure Security Appliance
Guards Against Cyber Threats

Uniloc USA Inc., the technology leader in device-based authentication, today announced that the need for bullet-proof security technology is more acute than ever due to hackers blackmailing cities by threatening to shut off power. The threat from hackers is so great that the CIA has launched a global hunt for the hackers who are running a huge extortion plot, according to reports.

?Hackers have already proven that they can disrupt the utilities by causing blackouts in several cities outside the United States? said senior CIA analyst Tom Donohoe in an interview this month with UK-based newspaper, The Daily Mail.

Terrorists don't have to use bombs to attack us. They can cripple the economy and disrupt lives with the click of a mouse. In a report1 by CNN regarding the impact of a large cyber attack on U.S. infrastructure, Scott Borg of the U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit said, ?It?s equivalent to 30 to 50 large hurricanes striking all at once. It?s greater economic damage than any modern economy has ever suffered.?

Recent cyber power attacks, all involving Internet-based intrusions, have alarmed some members of the Bush administration who believe that highly skilled terrorists could try to disable power, water and chemical plants in Europe and the United States.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security found a flaw in the computer programs controlling a giant electric generator. In a test, they showed how hackers could send messages to the power station through the Internet which would cause a violent reaction in the electric generator causing a large-scale power outage.

?Clearly, some Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Networks are under imminent threat,? said Casey Potenzone, CIO, Uniloc. ?The big weakness of these networks is their reliance on open-standards, which virtually invite hackers to break into vital systems controlling critical infrastructure.?

Potenzone said Uniloc StrongPoint?s* advanced security technology stops attacks in their tracks, protecting public infrastructures with device-based identity management more accurate than human DNA in the identification of those authorized to access public networks.

SCADA Network Security
SCADA networks contain computers and applications that conduct essential operations in the delivery of services across a wide variety of critical industry and government infrastructures, including transportation networks, electric power grids, water delivery networks and sewage networks to control pumps, valves and switches. As such, they are a part of the United States? industrial infrastructure which demands protection against a variety of insider and external threats that exist today. While SCADA networks deliver significant operational efficiencies and are pervasive throughout North America, security of these systems is often less than optimal because emphasis has been placed on performance, reliability, and safety ? leaving these networks prone to attack.

StrongPoint appliances protects SCADA networks using Uniloc physical device fingerprinting to restrict SCADA network access to designated PCs at the NOC (News - Alert) and designated computers used by authorized field engineering staff logging into the NOC Virtual Private Network (VPN

). With StrongPoint, a hacker must be on an authorized PC to impersonate an authorized user. StrongPoint also provides notification and location of unauthorized - connection attempts at the NOC or in the field. The hardened appliance is designed specifically to meet the growing need for security and hack resistance in the rapidly evolving world of SCADA systems. StrongPoint shields field control systems against malicious code threats, ensuring against network vulnerabilities and monitoring field security status conveniently from the NOC.

StrongPoint capabilities include:
? Protection of SCADA systems and field controls from the effects of cyber attack;
? Unprecedented hack-resistance ? significantly improves upon traditional router, switch and firewall

security;
? Uncompromising security on any infrastructure ? including open standards, wireless and public Internet;
? Bi-directional security ? prohibiting network access from breached field substations;
? Cross-platform compatibility with any and all operating systems and field control hardware;
? Notification and location of unauthorized StrongPoint VPN connection attempts; and
? Extraordinarily low impact on network performance.

Uniloc Device-Based Authentication
Physical Device Recognition is the core technology behind StrongPoint and is based on the fundamental principle that no two digital devices are identical. The process of Physical Device Recognition (PDR) starts by generating a digital identity for a device, known as its "physical device fingerprint." A physical device fingerprint is made up of a combination of machine characteristics and properties that are generated using a set of proprietary algorithms. The Uniloc physical device fingerprinting algorithms allow the unique, reproducible identification of a device with an accuracy greater than 3.4 * 10^38, allowing Uniloc to identify devices with more comparable accuracy than human DNA. When applied to StrongPoint, the stage is set for this device-based authentication to stand as the leading access control solution for infrastructure security.

About Uniloc USA
Uniloc USA is the technology leader in electronic PDR for software copy control and information security. The core technology platform driving Uniloc innovation is physical device fingerprinting, the company?s patented method of uniquely identifying a user device, such as a PC, game console, smart phone or cell phone, by the naturally occurring, inherent physical imperfections of that device, and then incorporating that physical device fingerprint into licenses or access credentials. Uniloc?s technologies can identify devices with more comparable accuracy than human DNA. Uniloc is the inventor and holder of the seminal physical device locking patent (U.S. 5,490,216) and has 15 related patents pending. Uniloc has applied its Physical Device Recognition technical expertise to several vertical markets, including software publishing, network authentication, transportation, social networking and DVD retailing. For more detailed information, please visit www.uniloc.com.

*StrongPoint is a trademark of Uniloc partner, Econolite. All other brand and product names are, or may be trademarks of their respective owners.