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Press Release

Media Contact

Maryann Karinch
The Open Group
+1 650 726 7020

Secure Messaging Workshop Gives Hands-On Practice to The Open Group’s Conference Attendees

Participants Exchanged Encrypted Mail Using Their Own Client Software; Next Workshop at April Members Meeting

San Francisco, CA – February 11, 2003 – An interactive workshop hosted by The Open Group last Friday gave all participants hands-on experience sending and receiving encrypted messages. At the workshop, participants learned about the components of a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), and then stepped through the process of setting up a secure messaging system. The Secure Messaging Implementors Workshop wound up a week of presentations and workshops on IT security at The Open Group’s winter conference, entitled Boundaryless Information Flow: Keeping IT Secure.

The model used in the Secure Messaging Implementors Workshop reflected results of the Secure Messaging Challenge, which The Boeing Company had issued to The Open Group’s Messaging Forum in July 2001. The Challenge, completed in January 2002, demonstrated how it is possible to exchange highly encrypted email using commercially available products.

"Boeing’s technical requirements sparked enthusiasm among the members of The Open Group to meet the challenge," said Allen Brown, President and CEO of The Open Group. "They seized the opportunity to demonstrate how a sophisticated business problem could be solved using only off-the-shelf and open source products."

Shortly after the Challenge was completed, The Messaging Forum made its Secure Messaging Challenge Toolkit publicly available. The Toolkit is a detailed implementation guide intended to assist companies in setting up their own secure messaging environment using the architecture and methodology developed by the Challenge Team. To request a copy, contact Maryann Karinch (m.Karinch@opengroup.org)

”The Secure Messaging Workshop, “ Brown added, “coached the audience in implementing the same solution described in the Secure Messaging Toolkit. It engaged the audience so successfully that The Open Group’s members have decided to repeat and expand the event at Spring 2003 conference in Austin, Texas.”

Components preceding the participants’ exchange of encrypted e-mail included the following:

• Setup of Lotus Domino Certificate Authority Application and Domino LDAP Server
• Setup of Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Certificate Server and Microsoft Exchange 5.5 Key Management Server
• Setup of LDAP proxy
• Purchase of a Commercial Client Certificate
• Installation of a Client Certificate in Microsoft® Outlook®
• Installation of a Client Certificate in Notes Client
• Setup and installation of OpenSSL
• Setup and installation of OpenLDAP

About The Open Group

The Open Group, a vendor-neutral and technology-neutral consortium, has a vision of Boundaryless Information Flow achieved through global interoperability in a secure, reliable and timely manner. The Open Group’s mission is to drive the creation of Boundaryless Information Flow by working with customers to capture, understand and address current and emerging requirements, establish policies, and share best practices; working with suppliers, consortia and standards bodies to develop consensus and facilitate interoperability, to evolve and integrate specifications and open source technologies; offering a comprehensive set of services to enhance the operational efficiency of consortia; and developing and operating the industry's premier certification service and encouraging procurement of certified products.