PassEdge Corporation Announces StreamAccess -- TheFirst Digital Rights Management System...

Business/High-Tech Editors

Streaming Media East 2000 - Booth No. 2117

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 13, 2000

PassEdge's New DRMV Systems Enable Creation

of New Internet Video Business Models

PassEdge Corporation today announced the release of StreamAccess(TM),

a Digital Rights Management System that enables secure distribution of streaming video over the Internet. StreamAccess is the first application created using PassEdge's AccessBase(TM) Digital Rights Management for Video (DRMV) platform. The DRMV platform was created specifically to enable new business models for the emerging internet-based video broadcast industry.

PassEdge is focused exclusively on the evolving $132 billion video distribution market as it invests to distribute content to the 100 million projected broadband connected customers (via satellite, cable, DSL, etc.). The PassEdge DRMV systems enable proven video business models such as subscription, video rental, pay-per-view and video-on-demand to be implemented over the Internet. PassEdge DRMV solutions will give content owners -- such as broadcasters, entertainment companies, corporations and distance learning organizations -- the confidence to allow distributors to disseminate their video content over the Internet.

"Content owners, including Hollywood, have been reluctant to release their premium content due to the lost revenue potential and ongoing threat of piracy," said Mark Ashida, president and chief executive officer, PassEdge. "StreamAccess enables content and service providers to launch a variety of new products and services such as live events, distance learning, interactive sports and corporate communication. The flexibility of our system allows various business models to be developed creating new revenue opportunities," he said.

StreamAccess enables "on-the-fly" encryption and decryption of content streams allowing live events and large video files to be securely streamed to consumers. The encryption enables efficient broadcast over Internet Protocol (IP) while ensuring that only authorized users can view the content. The PassEdge systems provide the data privacy, data integrity and usage auditing and reporting components required to enforce the content providers access controls.

How StreamAccess Works

StreamAccess is based on a three-tiered architecture of key components:

-- AccessBase(TM) -- A configurable rights management server

generating and managing security credentials for registered

users and content

-- On-the-fly encryption of streaming media at the media server

-- Thin-client software used for decryption of streaming media

at the end-user's PC or ultimately advanced set-top boxes

The basic operation of StreamAccess associates a user or

group of users with rights to content through

standards-based encryption occurring at the media server,

authentication of the user and key creation and

distribution. AccessBase performs all of the key generation

and management functions according to the business rules set

by the content distributor.

AccessBase generates a content specific key and encrypts the content into streams using that key. When requesting access to content, each user is authenticated through the use of a secure digital certificate. The scheme is highly efficient because the same content streams can be broadcast to multiple users, but secure because each user key can only decrypt the content they are entitled to. The keys can be refreshed and regenerated at intervals that are assignable by the content distributor allowing further levels of security. Furthermore, the rights of users or groups of users can be changed on the fly without affecting other users, and all access is recorded for auditing and reporting.

StreamAccess is independent of the type of networks used for content distribution. The solution supports Unicast, Multicast, store-and-forward as well as streaming content. Content encryption is done at the TCP/IP transport layer making the process totally independent of the type of application (media player, browser) running on the end-user's computer. As a result, StreamAccess is totally transparent to the end-user.

StreamAccess uses encryption keys which are time, user and content based. Each key encrypts a specific event during a specific period of time. Based on pre-defined security policies, the key can be changed as often as needed making keys nearly impossible to compromise. StreamAccess is based on the ISAKMP protocol for key exchange and distribution, X.509 and SPKI.

Security services include mutual authentication using digital certificates and privacy (128-bit Two-Fish). StreamAccess supports both NT and Solaris on the server, while the client component supports Windows(R) 95, 98, NT.

About PassEdge

PassEdge creates Digital Rights Management Systems for Video (DRMV) distribution over Internet Protocol (IP). Based on research from the Intel Architecture Labs, PassEdge provides highly secure, software-based rights management solutions that enable broadband media e-commerce models such as subscription, pay-per-view and on line events to millions of subscribers in a highly scalable environment. With PassEdge's solutions, service providers can manage who receives content, control how that content is used and track how content has been used. PassEdge also provides Professional Services for consulting, implementation and integration of Digital Rights Management for Video with leading providers of e-commerce, customer relationship management and content distribution to produce a comprehensive e-business solution for video. PassEdge, headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, is a subsidiary of Intel Corporation. More information about PassEdge and its solutions can be found at http://www.passedge.com/.

PassEdge, AccessBase and StreamAccess are trademarks of PassEdge Corporation in the United States and other countries.