NeoPost selects Elliptic Curve Cryptography from Certicom

Certicom Corp, a leading provider of wireless security solutions, has licensed its Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) to Neopost, the leading European and number two worldwide supplier of mailing solutions. Neopost is using the Security Builder(R) Crypto(TM) toolkit to embed ECC-based security into its mailing systems to create a secure, cost-effective way to generate Digital Postage Marks (DPMs) that meet the stringent requirements of the North American postal officials. In addition to being the only technology providing digital signatures that meet the small footprint requirements for DPMs, ECC enables Neopost’s systems to perform smaller signatures at a faster speed than competing systems.

The need for strong security in mailing systems has grown dramatically with the emergence of DPMs. In the digital era, security is a key concern in verifying a DPM. With Security Builder Crypto, Neopost has integrated an ECC- based digital signature to authenticate a DPM in its digital mailing systems. Because ECC uses smaller key sizes to offer equivalent security, the machine can produce a signature notably smaller than competing schemes. This is a major consideration impacting the final size of the mark and the space it occupies on a piece of mail.

Commenting on the agreement, Thierry Le Jaoudour, R/D manager at Neopost, said: “Neopost is proud to be meeting the security requirements of the US and Canadian postal authorities by integrating Certicom’s ECC technology into some of our key mailing systems for the North American market. Not only is the security built into our machines strong and reliable, but it also gives us considerable competitive edge due to its efficiency in signature size and speed.”

“We are pleased to add Neopost to the growing list of market-leading companies that have endorsed ECC-based security for its size and strength. This is a significant recognition of our intellectual property and validates our cryptographic toolkits as the most efficient security implementations for constrained environments,” said Roy Pereira, director, product management at Certicom. “Our Security Builder toolkits enable Neopost to integrate ECC digital signatures and other security mechanisms quickly and easily into their mailing systems in order to conform with the strict demands of the North American postal officials.”