From: cpunks@algebra.com
Date: Thu, 22 May 1997 10:07:16 +0800
To: cypherpunks@manifold.algebra.com
Subject: Swiss Consortium Chooses RPK Fast Public Key Cryptosystem for Next Generation Wireless Electronic Transactions (fwd)
Message-ID: <199705220159.UAA23432@manifold.algebra.com>
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----- Forwarded message from Jack Oswald -----

>From cpunks@manifold.algebra.com  Wed May 21 01:48:18 1997
Message-ID: <01BC6572.43D8F3A0@1Cust125.Max9.San-Francisco2.CA.MS.UU.NET>
From: Jack Oswald <joswald@rpkusa.com>
To: "'joswald@rpkusa.com'" <joswald@rpkusa.com>,
        "'maujacca@iprolink.ch'"
	 <maujacca@iprolink.ch>
Subject: Swiss Consortium Chooses RPK Fast Public Key Cryptosystem for Next Generation Wireless Electronic Transactions
Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 18:41:20 -0700
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Sender: owner-cypherpunks@toad.com
Precedence: bulk

Also see recent press coverage in Infoworld:

RPK announces deal for fast crypto with Swiss consortium
http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?97059.wrpk.htm=20

SET 2.0 on the way
http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayArchive.pl?/97/16/t04-16.1.htm=20

PRESS RELEASE

For Release May 19, 1997

RPK, Inc.: 	Jack Oswald, +1 408.479.7874, joswald@rpkusa.com, =
http://www.rpk.co.nz=20
ADESA, Inc.: 	Maurice Jaccard,+41 22.910.29.14, maujacca@iprolink.ch


Swiss Consortium Chooses RPK Fast Public Key Cryptosystem for Next =
Generation Wireless Electronic Transactions
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) and ADESA, Inc. introduce =
HAWK VLSI cryptography-enhanced processor

San Francisco, CA - RPK, Inc. announced today that a consortium of the =
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) and ADESA, Inc., a Swiss =
application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design firm have chosen =
the RPK Fast Public Key Cryptosystem to provide strong cryptographic =
security in a next generation wireless electronic transactions =
application.  At the same time, EPFL and ADESA unveiled HAWK a new =
generation cryptography-enhanced microprocessor specifically designed =
for use in high speed/low power embedded applications.

"The RPK encryption technology won the design review after an extensive =
evaluation of all existing cryptosystems based on well known and =
understood cryptographic techniques," said Maurice Jaccard, Managing =
Director of ADESA, Inc. "With RPK there are no compromises. We get =
uncompromised security, high speed and low cost of implementation."

"RPK is a strong encryption technology based on well know and trusted =
cryptographic techniques," said Jack Oswald, President and CEO of RPK =
Inc. "Having RPK chosen by the Swiss for this breakthrough =
electronic-commerce application is the strongest endorsement we could =
possibly achieve for the RPK technology."


Wireless Electronic Transactions Application

The collaboration of RPK, EPFL and ADESA has resulted in a prototype =
application that promises to become the "wallet of the future".  This =
new wireless electronic transaction application may take the form of a =
credit card, a watch or a key chain and will sport features analogous to =
the leather wallets used today by billions of people worldwide.  Early =
designs of the system allow the user to withdraw and hold cash in =
multiple currencies, as well as, purchase and hold vouchers for hotels, =
planes and car rentals all through the use of wireless communications =
technology.  Officials in charge of the project envision that such =
devices could also become a personal key chain for gaining access to =
motor vehicles, offices and dwellings, in addition to traditional credit =
card uses.

ADESA concluded that performance of the RPK implementation in the =
prototype far exceeded existing smart card implementations based on the =
RSA and other algorithms.  The RPK technology performs the necessary =
encryption functions in less than 10 milliseconds using an 823-bit key =
compared to the best performing RSA-based equivalents that require =
greater than 100 milliseconds to perform the same type of function using =
a much weaker 512-bit key.  The application is not limited to 823-bit =
keys.  The design of the system, based on the new HAWK processor is =
flexible and can accommodate and process various sized keys, smaller or =
larger than 823 bits based on downloadable parameters.  ADESA officials =
explained that the simplicity of the RPK algorithm makes it much simpler =
to implement than the popular RSA approach.  It was RPK's simplicity, =
offering a much faster and cheaper solution while providing even higher =
security, that drove the choice over RSA for this application. =20


About the RPK Fast Public Key Cryptosystem

RPK is a relatively new public key cryptosystem  that is based on =
mathematics widely used in cryptography today.  It was designed to be =
immediately commercially viable without the years of study that a new =
area of mathematics normally requires, such as the Elliptic Curve =
Cryptosystem (ECC).  The source of the security for RPK is the same as =
that of Diffie-Hellman key exchange, a widely used and well studied =
cryptographic technique. RPK offers real advantages for high speed =
networking, SmartCard, wireless communication applications as well as =
high volume software processes such as credit card transactions.=20

RPK has at its core an invention called a Mixture Generator.  In the =
preferred implementation, three fairly long linear feedback shift =
registers are used.  This state machine has two modes of operation.  One =
that uses the shift registers for exponentiation and the other as a =
generator of a random stream of bits used in a combining phase for the =
actual encryption.  Effectively, RPK allows for the amortization of two =
"costly" exponentiations over the entire length of a message because the =
core engine is used to initially establish a secure state of the machine =
and then switches modes to perform very high speed encryption.  This has =
been referred to as a paradigm shift where the operation of encryption =
does not require the costly calculations that an RSA or even an ECC =
implementation would require for each block of data that is about the =
size of the key.  This mechanism can also be implemented in silicon =
quite efficiently such that at high strength it is much cheaper to =
produce than alternative technologies.  Finally, it is also possible to =
create a Mixture Generator that is made up of Elliptic Curve groups =
which would provide a similarly speedy and efficient initialization mode =
that could still produce high speed encryption as noted above.


About the HAWK VLSI Crypto Processor

The HAWK VLSI cryptography-enhanced processor is the result of more than =
three years of research and development conducted at the EPFL in =
Lausanne, Switzerland in the area of high speed compression and =
encryption.  The HAWK processor will benefit most cryptography =
implementations but is particularly well suited for use with RPK.

"The HAWK processor is the most innovative approach that we have seen =
yet for implementing cryptographic processes in silicon," said Bill =
Raike, Chief Technology Officer for RPK Inc. and inventor of the RPK =
fast public key cryptosystem.  "HAWK breaks the barrier for high speed, =
low cost, low power and high strength encryption for embedded systems."



Background

RPK, Inc. is a supplier of next generation fast public key encryption =
technology.  RPK was invented and originally patented in New Zealand.  =
The company is therefore unaffected by restrictive U.S. export rules.  =
RPK has been successfully exported to virtually all countries of the =
world at high strength.  The company's headquarters are based in San =
Francisco, California, USA, with an offshore research and development =
center located outside of Auckland, New Zealand. http://www.rpk.co.nz=20

ADESA, Inc. is a leading ASIC design firm based in Geneva, Switzerland =
with expertise in embedded and cryptographic applications.

EPFL is a leading teaching and research technical institute in Lausanne, =
Switzerland.  The school is known for its work in advanced processor =
design.


***

----- End of forwarded message from Jack Oswald -----