Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Wi-Fi Firewall Gets U.S. Government Certification

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2003 14:19:14 -0500

Wi-Fi Firewall Gets U.S. Government Certification

Cranite Systems' WirelessWall Software Suite has received Federal Information
Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 certification from the National Institute of
Standards and Technology. The certification enables the Cranite product to be
sold to the U.S. government.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wi-Fi firewall gets U.S. approval

By Paul Festa
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
March 25, 2003, 10:52 AM PT

A start-up's wireless security product won approval from a federal standards
organization, paving the way for resale by Hewlett-Packard to the U.S. government.

Cranite Systems, a 3-year-old start-up based in San Jose, Calif., said its WirelessWall
Software Suite, a firewall for wireless networks, had earned the Federal Information
Processing
Standards (FIPS) 140-2 certification from the National Institute of Standards and
Technology
(NIST), a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The certification, granted March 21, makes Cranite eligible to sell its wares to the U.S.
government. Computer giant Hewlett-Packard plans to resell Cranite's software to
government
agencies.

"It's a requirement--if you want to sell wireless security products to the government you
need
FIPS," said Max Mancini, Cranite's vice president of engineering. "The NIST certification
says
we're using the right cryptography algorithms and protecting and generating our keys
correctly.
And even from a nongovernment-customer perspective, this is a stamp of approval that says
Cranite has done what they're claiming."

The NIST approval is purely technical. Separate export licenses issued to the company by
the
U.S. Department of State certify that the products meet the nation's strict cryptography
export
laws.

Cranite, which raised $12 million in September from investors including BV Capital and
Diamondhead Ventures, is hardly alone in offering security solutions for wireless
networks.
Competitors include Fortress Technologies, Vernier Networks and Blue Socket.

Mancini said Cranite and its competition are filling a pressing need as wireless networks
proliferate.

"A lot of companies are trying to approach wireless security because there is such a
significant concern," Mancini said. "The native security that's included in Wi-Fi does not

protect the network. It can be cracked by tools widely and easily available on the
Internet. And
trying to secure wireless networks with technology that was designed for wired networks is
a
bad idea."

Hewlett-Packard anticipated a lasting role as a Cranite reseller.

"We look forward to a long-term strategic relationship with Cranite," Bruce Klein, vice
president
of HP Federal, said in a statement.

http://news.com.com/2100-1009-994038.html