Research to modernize cryptography for protecting classified information 

Mississauga, Ontario – (April 14, 2003) – Certicom Corp. (TSX: CIC), a leading provider of wireless security solutions, today announced that it is working with the National Security Agency (NSA) in Maryland to research and develop advanced security technology and tools for protecting classified information.

Modernizing cryptographic technology is a top priority for governments because of its vital importance to national security. This pilot project with the NSA will result in new technology that will be integrated and used to secure top-secret government communications without compromising network speed and performance.

"This contract puts Certicom at the forefront of cryptographic developments within both the government and defense sectors,” says Ian McKinnon, President and CEO of Certicom. 

Top-secret communications are used at the highest levels of both the U.S. and Canadian government and clearly must be protected by technology that goes well beyond off the shelf cryptography. The goal is to improve the time to market with equipment that can secure and protect the nation’s most sensitive information. 

The Communications Security Establishment (CSE), Canada’s cryptologic agency, will likely use the same security tools for the protection of equally sensitive information within the Government of Canada, as part of its Canadian Cryptographic Modernization Project (CCMP).

The contract has been facilitated through the CCC (Canadian Commercial Corporation), Canada's export contracting agency. Acting as prime contractor, CCC through its own due diligence process assessed Certicom and worked with NSA on a government-to-government basis, providing a Canadian government-backed guarantee of contract performance on this project. 

About NSA
NSA employs the U.S.’s premier codemakers and codebreakers. It is said to be the largest employer of mathematicians in the United States and perhaps the world. Its mathematicians contribute directly to the two missions of the Agency: designing cipher systems that will protect the integrity of U.S. information systems and searching for weaknesses in adversaries' systems and codes. Visit www.nsa.gov for more information about NSA.

About CSE 
As the Government of Canada’s centre for information security expertise, CSE provides technical advice, guidance and services that help protect government information and information infrastructures. In conjunction with this, CSE’s industry programs evaluate and accredit commercial cryptographic systems and systems security products and systems for use within the Government of Canada. Visit www.cse-cst.gc.ca for more information about CSE.

About CCC
CCC (Canadian Commercial Corporation) is a Crown Corporation mandated to facilitate international trade, particularly in government markets. CCC’s approach is based on ‘three Cs’: credibility, confidence, contracts. CCC builds confidence in Canadian exports by giving them the credibility of a government-backed performance guarantee that opens doors and leads to contracts with improved terms. As a result, since its inception, CCC has helped thousands of companies from across Canada close export deals worth more than $30 billion and facilitated sales to foreign governments and private sector buyers in more than 100 countries.

Normally CCC acts as a Prime Contractor, signing a contract with the foreign buyer and a matching contract with the exporter. CCC also assists exporters to increase their pre-shipment working capital from commercial sources, and offers a range of procurement, pre-contract, contract advisory and post-contract services on a fee for service basis. Visit www.ccc.ca.

About Certicom
Certicom is a leading provider of wireless security solutions, enabling developers, governments and enterprises to add strong security to their devices, networks and applications. Designed for constrained devices, Certicom’s patented technologies are unsurpassed in delivering the strongest cryptography with the smallest impact on performance and usability. Certicom products are currently licensed to more than 300 customers including Texas Instruments, Palm, Research In Motion, Cisco Systems, Oracle and Motorola. Founded in 1985, Certicom is headquartered in Mississauga, ON, Canada, with offices in Ottawa, ON; Herndon, VA; San Mateo, CA; and London, England. Visit www.certicom.com.

Certicom, Security Builder, SSL Plus, Trustpoint, movian, movianVPN, movianCrypt, and movianMail are trademarks or registered trademarks of Certicom Corp. All other companies and products listed herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Except for historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially. Factors that might cause a difference include, but are not limited to, those relating to the acceptance of mobile and wireless devices and the continued growth of e-commerce and m-commerce, the increase of the demand for mutual authentication in m-commerce transactions, the acceptance of Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) technology as an industry standard, the market acceptance of our principal products and sales of our customer’s products, the impact of competitive products and technologies, the possibility of our products infringing patents and other intellectual property of fourth parties, and costs of product development. Certicom will not update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. More detailed information about potential factors that could affect Certicom’s financial results is included in the documents Certicom files from time to time with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities. 

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