SAN JOSE, Calif. - May 6, 1996 - Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced therelease of free security software to enable secure telecommuting andscalable Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). This reference implementationenables customers to configure end-to-end IP-layer network security withoutthe burden of manually pre-installed and verified Security Associations.Cisco Systems and Cylink, Inc. arepleased to announce Cisco has purchasedthe rights to freely distribute the source code to the Diffie-Hellman keyexchange, the Digital Signature Standard and the Digital EncryptionStandard. This UNIX-based implementation is available to all third partieson a royalty-free basis for use solely with the ISAKMP referenceimplementation and will assist users in deploying standards-basedencryption key management. The software can be downloaded by telneting toport 7600 on ftp-eng.cisco.com.
Cisco and Cylink have a pre-existing relationship for folding Cylink'sencryption software technology, the Secure Enterprise Architecture (S.E.AStack, into Cisco IOS software. Cisco IOS software ensures robust,secure and reliable internetworks by supporting the varied requirements ofboth LAN and WAN protocols, optimizing WAN services and controllingintranetwork access.
In order to promote the widespread use of these inventions on intranets,the Internet and private networks from Stanford University, and adoption ofthe ISAKMP reference by the IETF community, Cisco has acquired the rightunder its sublicense from Cylink to offer the ISAKMP referenceimplementation to all third parties on a royalty-free basis.
The Cylink cryptographic library is offered under the following licensingconditions:
- This software distribution is a reference implementation of the IETF'sISAKMP protocol and is being made available free of charge for anycommercial or non-commercial use to advance ISAKMP as a solution toInternet Key Management.
- The implementation is based upon ISAKMP draft number 5 [MST96] andutilizes features from the OAKLEY Key Determination Protocol [Orm96]. Bothdocuments are quite fluid at the moment and effort is being focused onrefining this implementation as the documents mature. The near-term goalis full compliance with both documents. The library does not implement theentire ISAKMP protocol today.
- Cylink Corporation, through its wholly owned subsidiary Caro-KannCorporation, holds exclusive sublicensing rights to the following U.S.patents owned by the Leland Stanford Junior University:
- Cryptographic Apparatus and Method - ("Hellman-Diffie") - No. 4,200,770
- Public Key Cryptographic Apparatus and Method - ("Hellman-Merkle") - No.4,218,582
This royalty-free privilege is limited to use of the ISAKMP referenceimplementation in accordance with proposed, pending or approved IETFstandards and applies only when used with Diffie-Hellman key exchange, theDigital Signature Standard or any other public key techniques that arepublicly available for commercial use on a royalty-free basis. Any use ofthe ISAKMP reference implementation that does not satisfy these conditionsand incorporates the practice of public key may require a separate patentlicense to the Stanford patents, which must be negotiated with Cylink'ssubsidiary, Caro-Kann Corporation.
This entire distribution is export controlled. It cannot be distributedoutside the United States or Canada nor should it be given to a non-citizenor non-permanent resident of the United States. All software in thispackage is provided under a Disclaimer of Liability.
Cylink (NASDAQ: CYLK), headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., is the world'slargest provider of a complete line of enterprise-wide information securityproducts and services. Cylink serves Fortune 500 companies, multinationalfinancial institutions and many international government agencies.
Posted: Mon May 6 15:26:20 PDT 1996
