TCS News
Contact Information:
Channa Luma, The Weiser Group, 202-641-6959, cluma@weisergroup.com
Tina Anderson, Novak Biddle Venture Partners, 240-497-1910, tina@novakbiddle.com
Marie Farrar for TCS, DBC Public Relations Experts, 202-298-7600 ext. 214, marie@dbcpr.com
Novak Biddle Portfolio Company TCS Moves Commercial Linux to its Highest Level of Trust
Trusted Computer Solutions Partners with IBM and Red Hat to Deliver
Trusted Operating System Technology into the Linux Mainstream
December 12, 2005, Bethesda, MD — Novak Biddle Venture Partners portfolio company Trusted Computer Solutions (TCS) has achieved a major milestone in the development of Linux by merging trusted operating system technologies with SELinux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
As the leading supplier of information sharing technologies to the Department of Defense, the intelligence community and commercial industry, TCS was responsible for making enhancements to Linux to ensure it meets government security standards for assured information sharing within and across government agencies. TCS partnered with Red Hat (NASDAQ: RHAT) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) to evaluate, package and distribute this version of Linux to be bundled into Red Hat Enterprise Linux v. 5.
In the long history of attempts to get trusted technology into mainstream operating systems, the TCS, IBM and RedHat effort currently under Common Criteria evaluation puts this technology into the Linux mainstream for the first time. Linux is now among only a handful of commercial operating systems to reach this level of security, offering government, as well as businesses, unprecedented choice, security and reliability and a new level of security for applications.
“With Red Hat Enterprise Linux v. 5 now in Common Criteria evaluation, it joins a small, elite class of trusted operating systems deemed secure enough to protect the government’s computers and most classified documents,” said Roger Novak, founding partner Novak Biddle Venture Partners and TCS board member. “We made an initial investment in TCS two years ago with the expectation that the company would be a pioneer in the information security space and this achievement underscores TCS’s outstanding leadership in the market,” Novak added.
“Novak Biddle has become an invaluable contributor to the growth of this company,” said Ed Hammersla, COO, Trusted Computer Solutions. “Notwithstanding Novak Biddle’s financial investment in TCS, we are most impressed by the firm’s industry knowledge and expertise. Because of the fund’s propensity to invest in technology spun out of government laboratories, Novak Biddle is one of the few VC firms that truly understands the space,” Hammersla added.
Novak Biddle Venture Partners is an equity financing firm assisting the management of young, information technology companies including those in the educational software, homeland security and information security sectors. Novak Biddle is backed by a number of the country’s most prestigious limited partners and has more than $350 million under management.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux v. 5 is scheduled to be available from Red Hat in late 2006. However, the full trusted Linux security functionality is available immediately through several TCS applications — such as SecureOffice® NetTop2® - Thin Client™— and are already running on the trusted Linux foundation. SecureOffice NetTop2 – Thin Client enables users to access multiple security levels on a single computer and includes the full security functionality of the trusted Linux operating system that is today under Common Criteria evaluation. For more information, please visit www.TrustedCS.com.
About Novak Biddle Venture Partners
Novak Biddle Venture Partners is a leading early stage venture capital firm focused on unique, cutting-edge technology investments in the Eastern United States, as well as targeted opportunities nationwide. With over $350 million under management, Novak Biddle operates four venture funds that currently provide equity financing and management assistance to 31 portfolio companies. Novak Biddle continues to seek business situations where the combination of ideas, dollars, experience, and relationships can create long term, sustainable value. A sampling of companies funded by Novak Biddle include: RFID first-mover Matrics, voice over IP trailblazer Telogy, education technology leader Blackboard Inc. and intelligent video surveillance pioneer ObjectVideo. For more information, visit www.novakbiddle.com.
About Trusted Computer Solutions, Inc.
Founded in 1994, Trusted Computer Solutions (TCS) provides a broad portfolio of cyber security solutions that have a proven track record of proactively preventing government and commercial organizations from being compromised. The Company offers the SecureOffice® suite of cross domain solutions that allow the secure transfer and sharing of information across networks of different classification levels; Security Blanket®, an automated operating system lock down and management tool; and CounterStorm™, a behavioral, statistical and content-based anomaly detection system that rapidly identifies targeted and zero-day attacks. All TCS solutions are backed by the company’s Professional Services group, which consists of nationally recognized experts in security policy, architecture, planning, and implementation. TCS is headquartered in Herndon, Va., with offices in Champaign, Ill. and San Antonio, TX. For more information, visit www.TrustedCS.com, follow @TrustedCS on Twitter or visit Trusted Computer Solutions' Security Blanket Technical Blog http://tcs-security-blanket.blogspot.com/.
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