Ciphire Labs protects consumers with a safe, easy-to-use and free email security tool; Ciphire Mail installs in minutes to guard email privacy and to prevent identity theft.

M2 PRESSWIRE-18 January 2005-Ciphire Labs: Ciphire Labs protects consumers with a safe, easy-to-use and free email security tool; Ciphire Mail installs in minutes to guard email privacy and to prevent identity theft(C)1994-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

RDATE:01182005

NEW YORK - Ciphire Labs, a Munich-based cryptographic research and development facility, today released Ciphire Mail, a best of breed secure email communication software, free for consumers, non-profits and the press. It has been designed for maximum-security requirements, but was built so that even non-technical users can quickly install and benefit from it. Ciphire Mail provides highest-grade security that protects email privacy, prevents identity theft and minimizes exposure to common email scams such as spoofing.

With more than 26 billion emails sent worldwide daily that pass through vulnerable and sometimes hostile networks, researchers and the government agree that the consumer risk of hacking and identity theft is at an all time high. According to industry analyst firm Forrester Research, identity theft is the fastest growing computer crime in the U.S. The research group also maintains that the best defense against this crime for consumers is email authentication.

Intercepting of emails by unauthorized parties, altered email content, and identity theft are more common than most emails users are aware of. Other dangers include exposure to email spoofing and phishing scammers who masquerade as banks and online retailers to lure the public into emailing private financial and personal information. Researchers found that during the last 3 months of 2004, the global incident of phishing attacks alone grew 500% as compared to the previous 3 months of 2004.

Ciphire Mail works with all popular email programs behind the scenes to protect sensitive personal and financial information often contained in emails, such as personal photographs, bank account and credit card numbers, social security numbers, medical results and physician correspondence. Ciphire Mail automatically and invisibly authenticates email content and sender identity without prompting the user or requiring additional steps or processes. The product uses digital signatures to perform the authentication, reducing the risk of email spoofing. Ciphire Mail does not require additional software or hardware, and integrates seamlessly with existing email environments.

"Email as a communication medium is under siege. Not only is consumer trust in email waning due to phishing scams and spam, but there also is a tremendous concern about private information falling into the wrong hands," said Errikos Pitsos, CEO of Ciphire Labs. "Ciphire Mail offers the public exactly what it needs: a simple solution to complex threats. Now, everybody can send secure email."

Ciphire Mail is installed in minutes for immediate benefit. The product can be used on several computers sharing the same email account. Ciphire Mail operates invisibly in the background and ensures that only the intended recipients can read the emails. Ciphire Mail works with popular anti-virus programs and firewalls to provide total protection for communications coming into, or out of, a PC used at home or at work.

Ciphire Mail supports all popular email programs including Outlook, Eudora and Mozilla Thunderbird. It runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X operating systems.

Ciphire Mail can be downloaded today at www.ciphire.com. The product is free of charge to home-users, non-profit organizations and the press.

About Ciphire Labs

Ciphire Labs is a cryptographic research and development facility with offices in Munich, Germany, and Zurich, Switzerland. The company is privately held and produces user-friendly solutions, including Ciphire Mail that enables secure communication over the Internet. Ciphire Labs technologies are peer-reviewed by recognized experts to maximize quality and improve security. For more information, visit us at www.ciphire.com.

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