Secure Shell Reaches Proposed Standard Status in the IETF

Gaining Proposed Standard Status is a Significant Milestone in the Secure Shell Standardization

Helsinki, Finland and Wellesley, Mass. - January 9, 2006, SSH Communications Security Corp. (HEX:SSH1V), a world-leading provider of enterprise security solutions and end-to-end communications security, and the original developer of the Secure Shell protocol, today announced that Secure Shell protocol specifications have reached Proposed Standard status within the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) standardization process and were published as RFC documents.

The IETF is an international body that governs the Internet standardization process and publication of standards. Receiving a Proposed Standard status is a significant milestone for the Secure Shell technology, ensuring interoperability between implementations from multiple vendors and providing a basis for seamless product compliance. Internet Protocol (IP), Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), and Hypertext Transmission Protocol (HTTP) are among the fundamental Internet protocol specifications, where IETF standardization has also played a key role in technology adoption and interoperability.

Secure Shell was originally developed in 1995 by Tatu Ylonen, the founder of SSH Communications Security, to overcome the security risks of sending and receiving plaintext data and to provide a secure means of replacing Telnet, FTP, and Unix r-series programs. Later that year, after receiving multiple requests for a feature-rich commercial version, Tatu Ylonen developed what is known today as Secure Shell. Today Secure Shell is the de-facto standard used by millions worldwide for secure server administration, secure file transfer, and secure application connectivity.

“We have always been committed to open standards and supported the IETF in the standardization of the key communications security technologies,” said Timo Rinne, CTO of SSH Communications Security. “Secure Shell has already established itself as a de-facto industry standard for secure system administration and file transfers. The IETF standardization of the Secure Shell protocol is a solid foundation for future development of interoperable and standards-compliant end-to-end communications security solutions.”

The seven new Proposed Standard RFC documents are RFC 4250 – 4256.


About SSH Communications Security

SSH Communications Security is a world-leading provider of enterprise security solutions and end-to-end communications security, and the original developer of the Secure Shell protocol. The company’s SSH Tectia solution addresses the most critical needs of large enterprises, financial institutions, and government agencies. With SSH Tectia, organizations can cost-effectively secure their system administration, file transfers and application connectivity against both internal and external security risks. As the original developer of the Secure Shell protocol and other key network security technologies, SSH has for 10 years developed end-to-end communications security solutions specifically for the enterprise. Currently more than 100 of Global Fortune 500 companies are using SSH security solutions. SSH shares are quoted on the Helsinki Exchanges Main List. For more information, please visit www.ssh.com.

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SSH Communications Security, Inc.

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