Atmel To Incorporate Cryptography Research Security Patents In Chips

PRESS RELEASE

SAN JOSE, Calif. and SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Atmel Corporation (Nasdaq: ATML) and Cryptography Research, Inc. (CRI) announced today an agreement regarding the use of CRI's patents to enhance the security of Atmel's tamper-resistant chips against Differential Power Analysis (DPA) and related attacks. Under the agreement, Atmel receives the freedom to use CRI's patents as part of its strategy to develop and enhance its security chips used in smart cards and other applications. The license also covers software executing on Atmel chips, allowing Atmel's customers to develop their own security countermeasures without a separate license from Cryptography Research.

"Security is one of our main focus areas, and our strategy is to develop the most advanced secure microcontrollers with state-of-the-art protection mechanisms against a multitude of attacks. This agreement enables Atmel to strengthen its leadership in the security market," said Herve Roche, Atmel's Marketing Manager for Telecom and Banking.

"Atmel is a leading chip supplier in a variety of industries," said Carole Coplan, Vice President of Business Development, Tamper Resistance Solutions, at Cryptography Research. "We are pleased to include Atmel among our growing list of licensed chip suppliers."

DPA is a form of attack that involves monitoring the fluctuating electrical power consumption of a target device and then using advanced statistical methods to derive cryptographic keys and other secrets. Strong countermeasures to DPA help protect tamper-resistant chips used in applications such as banking, pay television, mass transit, secure ID, and wireless telecommunications.

Cryptography Research has been awarded a portfolio of approximately 50 patents covering countermeasures to DPA attacks.

About Atmel

Atmel is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of microcontrollers, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency (RF) components. Leveraging one of the industry's broadest intellectual property (IP) technology portfolios, Atmel is able to provide the electronics industry with complete system solutions focused on consumer, industrial, security, communications, computing and automotive markets. For more information, visit www.atmel.com.

(C) 2009 Atmel Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Atmel(R), Atmel logo and combinations thereof, and others are registered trademarks or trademarks of Atmel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other terms and product names may be trademarks of others.

About Cryptography Research, Inc.

Cryptography Research, Inc. provides technology to solve complex security problems. In addition to security evaluation and applied engineering work, the company is actively involved in long-term research and technology licensing in areas including content protection, tamper resistance, network security and financial services. Security systems designed by Cryptography Research engineers protect more than $100 billion of commerce annually for wireless, telecommunications, financial, entertainment, digital television and Internet industries. For additional information, please visit www.cryptography.com.