Sentry Begins Testing Voice Verification for E-Commerce Security

Sentry Systems Inc.
said it is now alpha testing its Sentry Internet voice verification product.

The product is designed to verify the identity of any Internet user through
the use of a personally-selected voice password–any spoken password in any
language.

This exact user verification will secure Internet transactions and access to
network-delivered information or resources, the company said. Sentry’s product
uses existing hardware–the user’s voice password is spoken directly into
the desktop PC’s standard microphone and is fully functional using the most
commonly available sound cards.

“Test results are even better than we had hoped,” said Al Forbes, Sentry’s
CEO. “We’re enrolling user voice prints on a TCP/IP network and verifying the
users across a LAN. The next step is moving the test to the Internet. The key
to successfully using voice verification on the Internet is how easy and
intuitive it is for the users. Allowing users to choose any password in any
language–including their own names–is as intuitive as it gets. Sentry
will deliver the first product that does this.”

The Alpha Test software is slated to be moved to a live Sentry Internet site in
October, where users can enroll and verify their voices from PCs in their
offices and homes, Forbes said.

“Sentry’s software development and Internet expertise, combined with the T-
NETIX SpeakEZ Voice Print verification engine, will create a new class of user
authentication solutions for electronic commerce,” said Forbes.

“We have been impressed with Sentry’s progress in developing a comprehensive,
scalable Internet security product in such a short period of time,” said Tom Huzjak, CEO and chairman of T-NETIX,an equity partner in Sentry. “Our
customers, who are realizing the value of SpeakEZ Voice Print for securing
customer and employee access to call center resources, have been asking for a
complete voice verification-based electronic commerce solution. . . We expect
this market will quickly evolve. In the not too distant future, voice print
verification to access certain Internet sites and resources will be
commonplace.”

Sentry’s voice verification product will include a robust policy engine when
it’s commercially released in March 1999. Beta testing is planned to begin in
November, 1998, with several major financial service providers already
committed, the company said.