QUALCOMM Offers Free Access to Encryption Software

[R. A. Hettinga]

http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/print_story.asp?story=31856391

Lycos Finance

QUALCOMM Offers Free Access to Encryption Software 

27 Feb 2003, 07:31am ET 

- - - - - 
/FROM PR NEWSWIRE LOS ANGELES  213-626-5500/
[STK] QCOM
[IN] CPR STW HTS MLM TLS CSE HRD
[SU] PDT
TO BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY EDITORS:

              QUALCOMM Offers Free Access to Encryption Software

    SAN DIEGO, Feb. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In an initiative designed to
benefit the telecommunications industry and the general public,
QUALCOMM Incorporated ( NASDAQ:QCOM ), pioneer and world leader of Code
Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, today announced
that it will allow free use of its SOBER and Turing encryption algorithms for
any purpose.  In the past, QUALCOMM provided the encryption software only to
its licensed manufacturers or for non-commercial use.
    Turing and the SOBER family are high-speed, highly secure stream ciphers
and are thought to be immune to any practical cryptanalytic attacks.  Stream
ciphers can be much more efficient for encryption than the more common block
ciphers, such as the Advanced Encryption Standard.  Stream ciphers can mean
lower cost of hardware implementation or, at times, the choice to use a
software implementation instead of building any specialized hardware.
    "Encryption technology protects our wireless networks and enables
operators to ensure all cell phone calls are secure, however the value of the
technology is limited unless it is used," said Greg Rose, vice president of
technology for QUALCOMM.  "By making the encryption software and complementary
patents available, QUALCOMM has opened up a key piece of security technology
to the industry and other interested individuals."
    QUALCOMM was recently granted a new patent, U.S. Patent 6,510,228, that
covers the SOBER cipher and its descendants, including its new encryption
algorithm Turing.  The new algorithm, the Turing cipher, is named after Alan
Turing (1912-54), a respected mathematician and cryptographer who contributed
greatly to England's code breaking efforts during World War II, as well as the
foundations of computer science.  The Turing cipher is significantly faster
than the recently adopted Advanced Encryption Standard algorithm (Rijndael),
and can offer advanced protection for CDMA networks, the Internet and
electronic commerce.  The SOBER family of encryption algorithms was first
released in 1997 and can be used for a variety of CDMA applications, as well
as other uses, such as high-speed routers.
    Source code for the ciphers is available from QUALCOMM Australia's Web
site at www.qualcomm.com.au .

    QUALCOMM Incorporated ( www.qualcomm.com ) is a leader in developing and
delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services
based on the Company's CDMA digital technology.  Headquartered in San Diego,
Calif., QUALCOMM is included in the S&P 500 Index and traded on The Nasdaq
Stock Market(R) under the ticker symbol QCOM.

    Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release
contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and
uncertainties, including the Company's ability to successfully design and have
manufactured significant quantities of CDMA components on a timely and
profitable basis, the extent and speed to which CDMA is deployed, change in
economic conditions of the various markets the Company serves, as well as the
other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including
the report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2002, and most recent
Form 10-Q.

    QUALCOMM is a registered trademark of QUALCOMM Incorporated.  All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

    For further information, please contact:  Christine Trimble, Corporate
Public Relations, +1-858-651-3628, or fax, +1-858-651-5873,
publicrelations at qualcomm.com, or Julie Cunningham, Investor Relations,
+1-858-658-4224, or fax, +1-858-651-9303, jcunningham at qualcomm.com, both of
QUALCOMM Incorporated.

SOURCE  QUALCOMM Incorporated
    -0-                             02/27/2003
    /CONTACT:  Christine Trimble, Corporate Public Relations, +1-858-651-3628,
or fax, +1-858-651-5873, publicrelations at qualcomm.com, or Julie Cunningham,
Investor Relations, +1-858-658-4224, or fax, +1-858-651-9303,
jcunningham at qualcomm.com, both of QUALCOMM Incorporated/
    /Web site: http://www.qualcomm.com.au /
    /Web site: http://www.qualcomm.com /


-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'

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