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Dulles, Va. (February 18, 2002):
Mandylion Research Labs, LLC today announced that its patent pending Personal Password
Manager token, the ebplite has recently received
favorable accolades from the top enterprise publication of C/Net, ZDNet Tech Update.
The ebplite was mentioned as a
"very secure measure" by Wayne Rash in his published
Security Update Newsletter which is subscribed to by the industry’s top information commercial
and government security professionals.
In the article, Password Chaos Threatens E-Commerce, ZDNet’s Wayne Rash
stated
that password management and security is a major weakness with the increasing use by
corporations of suppliers’ external commerce sites to order corporate goods and services.
Rash predicts that such lax security will create an environment where significant defalcations
and fraud can occur within companies which are utilizing such sites to do their purchasing.
To preclude this, stepped up internal controls over purchasing staff and enforcement of security
policies is required. With each external commerce site requiring different authentication
scenarios and varying authentication requirements often outside of corporate password policy
and guidelines, users tend to make the access controls to those web sites extremely weak
and lax according to the article.
"Fortunately, there are solutions." Rash stated in his OpEd article. In comparing industry
solutions to this problem, including Microsoft’s Passport, Rash wrote, "A much more secure
approach is the ebplite from Mandylion Research Labs." "Even better, it generates really secure
passwords for each site that match the password requirements for that site."
"So at least there are solutions that can help your employees cope with the password proliferation
on commerce sites", "…at least in the case of Mandylion, it's a very secure measure."
Rash concluded. Receiving these coveted references from top experts in security highlights
Mandylion Labs’ growing presence in the information security marketplace and reflects its
innovative approach to secure password use and management, a significant issue facing
virtually every business and home computer user. This reference to Mandylion comes on the
heels of a similar glowing "First Look" PC Magazine gave the product in its February 11, 2002
online issue.
"…if secure passwords are important to you, the ebplite will make managing them easier"
is how PC Magazine’s Larry J. Seltzer summed up his
"First Looks" of the device.
The Editor gave the Mandylion Personal Password Manager three "stars". Seltzer touched
on all the products strengths but added that the initial set up of the unit and its menu/features
system are complex, but necessary "if you really want to be serious about security".
In a related story by PC Magazine’s Seltzer on "Password Cracking" that appeared in both
the Online (December 13, 2001) and the print versions of PC Magazine (February 12, 2002),
Neil Rubenking, Contributing Technical Editor of PC Magazine wrote in his comments about
the device "…I can see how you'd get used to it, and YES, the darn thing is portable in a way
your oh-so-handy password-collection SOFTWARE is not."
The full article and comments from this February 15, 2002 ZDNet Tech Update can be
viewed online at:
techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/
stories/main/
0,14179,2847895,00.html
"The focus as a Company and its innovative products is the Federal Government’s mandate to improve
its cyber security." "As evidenced by these reviews and initial strong interest, it's clear that we've succeeded,"
said Joseph Grajewski, president of Mandylion. "This success is a significant milestone for us as it
underscores our continued leadership in password security and user authentication in the Fed."
David Schoenbrot, Vice President of Mandylion added, " Weak and carelessly managed
passwords are now considered by the FBI as the No.2 vulnerability threatening our national computing
infrastructure." "Before we developed our patent pending technology, there was no real effective way
to address this threat while at the same time providing the user with convenience."
About the Product
 Mandylion Labs’ developed and patented this innovative and inexpensive
password manager called the ebplite in a three year development
effort. It is a key chain sized device that helps any user instantly create cryptographically strong passwords
that immediately work with any web site, login or system. A key feature is that the device provides for
the secure and convenient storage of a user’s passwords along with their automatic update. It was
designed to do away with the inherent weaknesses traditionally associated with the use of passwords;
namely the individual being asked to create, remember and regularly change their passwords.
Passwords created with the device thwart all known brute force and dictionary type hacking attacks.
It is more than a smart card. It works instantly with any login, any system and requires
no client or host software or apparatus. There is nothing to install.
Originally developed for U.S. military and national security applications, more advanced versions
of the device have the ability to embed user identifying watermarks within the passwords generated.
The biometric version of the unit can asymmetrically bioauthenticate the individual logging in to
an ordinary web site. To aid in the purely random number generation, algorithms embedded
within the unit’s firmware continuously sense and take input from the user's random and unique
interaction with the device
While other information security products generally address only specific threats, Mandylion’s
products improve the entire baseline level of data security for the enterprise. Further, with studies
that show that now half of all help desk support calls are for password resets, the device has become
a tool of cost containment for runaway tech support costs.
The product retails for approximately $69.95 with corporate and Government discounts bringing
its price in the mid $30 dollar range U.S. For a complete and current list of companies which offer
the product, please visit our web site at
www.mandylionlabs.com .
About Gartner
Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory firm that helps more than 10,500 clients understand technology
and drive business growth. Gartner's businesses consist of Gartner Research, Gartner Consulting,
Gartner Measurement and Gartner Events. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford,
Connecticut, and has 4,000 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants, in more
than 90 locations worldwide. For more information, visit
www.gartner.com. The Gartner Symposium/Itxpo
event is the IT industry's largest conference. Hosted this year in Orlando, this event features
more than 200 sessions led by Gartner analysts.
About Mandylion Labs
The idea was inspired. Yet so simple. Rather than search to replace
the use of passwords, just make them more convenient to use while removing the vulnerabilities
associated with them . In 1998, Mandylion Labs originated this simple and intuitive concept toward
password management. Today, we're a recognized as the leading innovator in access control utilizing
durable password techniques. Government, Corporations and ISPs use our solutions to reduce the cost
and complexity of managing their access control systems in the Window NT and Unix and Linux
environments while increasing the enterprise's entire baseline of data security. With a web-centric
economy pushing along expanding volumes of confidential information which is only separated
from the public domain by an easily forgotten or worse, a hackable password, Mandylion’s solutions
couldn't have come at a better time.
The apparatus and methods developed by the Company (5 separate patents pending effective 7/99 et al)
inexpensively provide computer users with convenience, privacy and security in the management
of their web site and LAN/WAN login passwords.
The Company is located in Vienna, Va. Our number is 703 – 628 4284.
Our e-mail address is
info@mandylionlabs.com
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Federal
Computer Week Review
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