Johannesburg, 10 May 2006
Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE)-listed Prism Holdings showcased its Incognito Transaction Security Module (TSM) range of products at CardTech/SecureTech in San Francisco, California last week.
Prism`s TSM range is designed to provide cryptographic services for financial transaction applications including ATM networks, e-commerce and m-commerce.
Prism`s Incognito TSM410 is among the products to be shown at the expo. The module is a tamper-resistant, cryptographic security device that offers high-performance, high-security services used in electronic funds transfer (EFT) switches and other top-end transaction processing arenas.
According to Gerhard Claassen, Director of Prism`s Transaction Security Business Unit, Prism became the first company in Africa and the second in the Southern Hemisphere to achieve the international security certification, *FIPS 140-2 (Federal Information Processing Standards) for the TSM410 in 2005.
"Achieving the FIPS 140-2 certification, a requirement for entry into several markets including the US and Europe, placed Prism within an exclusive group of the world`s top security module suppliers and overcame a barrier of acceptance that historically had faced products of African origin," explains Claassen.
"Prism positioned its flagship Incognito TSM410 module in such a way that it not only met and surpassed global standards to obtain recognised certifications, but also broke the entry barrier in terms of price versus performance."
The TSM410 also won the South African 2005 Technology Top 100 (TT100) award in the category Leader in Research and Development. Prism`s entry focused on advances made by the company in the development of this cryptographic platform on which multiple applications can be built.
The TT100 Programme is one of the foremost business awards programmes in South Africa. The award process identifies and recognises the most technologically excellent large, medium, small and emerging companies in the country for having either developed new and commercially viable technologies, or for having innovatively applied technology to their business for commercial gain.
The Transaction Security division has supplied its Incognito TSM410 to the big four South African banks to enable high-performance, high-security services. The 410 module is currently used at financial switches, bank branches and for mobile payment and banking security, online prepaid electricity vending and in trusted centres.
Overall the product is a business as well as technical success. The module competes well on a technical level with its international peers and from a price perspective it is extremely competitive. The TSM410 is tamper-resistant and complies with ANSI and ISO.
The TSM410 is key to the enablement of new solutions for the company, specifically the Prism VTU (Voucherless Top-Up) solution, which facilitates the distribution of prepaid cellular airtime by an entrepreneur with a standard GSM handset and access to cellular networks. The VTU system has been sold into several African operators and is attracting much interest globally.
Security is core to enabling and processing trusted transactions and over its 12-year highly specialised history, Prism has placed substantial focus on relevant and innovative product development in this area. The company provides crypto for client type devices as well as offers the Incognito end-to-end security range of products. The range includes Incognito Conductor; Incognito TSM 110; Incognito TSM 120; Incognito TSM 220; Incognito TSM 410 and Trusted Centres.
"Coupled with the development and sale of our own certified encryption products, as a Thales e-Security Gold partner, Prism is a value-added reseller of Thales transaction security technology into multiple countries within the southern African region, and is the biggest supplier of financial crypto equipment in the region," concludes Claassen.
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