Ethentica Secures Up to $40 Million in AdditionalFunding.

Business Editors

LAKE FOREST, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 10, 2000

Financing Relationships with Safeguard Scientifics, XL Vision,

HP, Amdahl, Greenhill Partners Signal Strength of

Company Business Model, Growth of Digital Authentication Market

During this round of funding, Safeguard and XL Vision increased their equity in the company, and Hewlett-Packard Company, Amdahl Corp. and Greenhill Partners LLC became key equity investors. Additionally, HP will provide Ethentica with up to $15 million under a convertible debt arrangement.

"This additional infusion of capital is further validation of our business model and shows that businesses are embracing our digital authentication solutions," said Ethentica president and chief executive officer Doug Antone. "Companies of all sizes, especially Fortune 500 members, have identified the critical need to upgrade their digital security, and this requirement is driving demand for our products and services."

Antone continued, "Our new investment partners have assessed our technology, met the Ethentica management team, know the security space and have voted with their investment dollars that we are the right company offering the right authentication solutions for the market. Their strong support demonstrates confidence in the entire Ethentica team and will help drive our success."

Ethentica's products and services permit Ethentication(TM) -- the verification of an individual's identity -- any time, anywhere. Ethentication can be based on something users know, such as passwords, something users have, such as smart cards, something users are, such as biometrics or any combination of these.

Ethentica allows individuals to access their digital identities and interact with other individuals' digital identities to conduct e-business from any laptop, PDA, cell phone or other entry point using any access technology, including passwords, digital certificates, smart cards, PKI or biometrics. Further, Ethentica empowers businesses to securely and cost-effectively manage this Ethentication process or combination of processes across the extended enterprise.

Key investors also are playing a major role in implementing and introducing Ethentica's products and services. In addition to deployment partner CompuCom Systems Inc., Amdahl and HP will manage pilots for many of their key customers, with special emphasis on the banking, financial brokerage, insurance and business-to-business exchange and portal markets.

"Ethentica has the engineering know-how and the management experience to achieve success of Ethentication," said Craig White, president, HP Credit Corporation. "This is why HP is excited about its relationship with Ethentica."

Setting Industry Standards

Ethentica, formerly known as Who? Vision Systems, recently introduced its first touch-verification (fingerprint biometrics) product that eliminates the need for passwords in the growing area of mobile computing and e-commerce.

The Ethenticator(TM) MS 3000 is a Type II touch-verification PC Card with a patent-pending pop-out fingerprint sensor. It integrates Ethentica's patented TactileSense(TM) fingerprint biometric sensor with the portability and usability of a Type II PC card, enabling the product to be used on any standard laptop.

Ethentica and Philips Flat Display Systems (FDS), a business group of Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands (NYSE: PHG), have incorporated the TactileSense technology into a thin glass engineered by Philips, creating a uniquely thin solution.

The use of this technology allows the sensor to be no larger than a postage stamp and less than 1/8-inch thin. In addition, Philips is manufacturing the glass for Ethentica's line of biometric products. With an introductory price of $199, the Ethenticator MS 3000 offers cost savings, convenience and security to mobile users.

In addition to its product line, Ethentica offers Ethentication services that make security and trusted transactions easy for enterprises of all sizes. By listening to the needs of FORTUNE 500 companies, Ethentica learned that most companies lack the expertise, time and staff resources to improve authentication services and are looking for outsourced solutions.

Ethentica carries out this critical business function by providing companies with the capability to outsource their authentication needs. Ethentica's outsourcing strategy fulfills companies' core needs for authentication without having to allocate expensive and scarce resources to developing a core competency in authentication. These Ethentication services are being introduced to the market this month, after having successfully performed for pilot customers, such as Amdahl and CompuCom.

Original company investors, led by Safeguard Scientifics, that have worked with Ethentica over the past few years include Citibank, Comcast, Incuvest, Internet Capital Group, Philips Electronics, TL Ventures and XL Vision.

"We're excited to be part of this latest round of investment and are confident of Ethentica's ability to deliver on its strategy," said Warren V. "Pete" Musser, chairman and CEO of Safeguard Scientifics. "The need for easy-to-use security solutions is clear and is an important part of the infrastructure needed to fully enable the digital economy."

About Ethentica

An XL Vision and Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE: SFE) partner company, Ethentica has headquarters in Lake Forest, Calif., with U.S. offices in Dallas, Maryland, North Carolina and Washington, D.C. and international offices in England and Taiwan.

In addition to offering breakthrough Ethentication solutions to its customers, Ethentica's family of TactileSense(TM)technologies enhances security and convenience by eliminating passwords in corporate networks, Internet transactions, home computers and consumer electronics devices. The company was originally founded as Who? Vision Systems Inc. in 1997. For further information, visit the company at www.ethentica.com or call toll-free 877/660-5353.