3Com Corp. and Certicom Corp., a provider of
cryptographic security technologies, have agreed for Certicom to provide data
security technologies based on its implementation of an advanced security
technology called Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC).
ECC will be used in future versions of 3Com’s PalmPilot connected
organizer and the Palm Computing platform. Financial details were not
disclosed.
Security is a critical function for handheld computing products like the
PalmPilot organizer, IBM WorkPad PC Companion, Franklin Electronic Day
Planner and others that are compatible with the Palm Computing platform,
3Com said.
“Certicom is an ideal partner to help us extend the Palm Computing platform
into the next generation of mobile applications and services,” said Donna
Dubinsky, 3Com vice president and president of Palm Computing, a subsidiary
of 3Com.
Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) provides higher levels of security at
smaller key sizes than any other known public-key cryptographic system,
Certicom said.
The Palm Computing platform is an open architecture for handheld computing
that provides an ideal basis for third-party developers and OEMs to create
and deliver mobile computing solutions.
The platform consists of four primary components for which developers can
write applications: the device operating system, called the Palm OS; the
HotSync conduit data synchronization technology; the reference hardware
design; and the software interface capabilities to support hardware add-ons.
