Sterling Commerce Business-to-Business Solution Certifications Assure Secure Data File Exchange

Sterling Commerce, an AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) subsidiary, today announced that the company’s business-to-business (B2B), enterprise application integration (EAI) and managed file transfer (MFT) solutions have received industry certifications for cryptography and secure file transfer. The secure movement of data and files within a company, and between a company and its suppliers and customers, is essential to protecting corporate data and reputation. As the amount of information that companies exchange continues to grow exponentially, these third-party-validated certifications further exemplify the company’s commitment to assuring the highest levels of security standards. Sterling Commerce solutions were awarded: Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 (Level 1) validation, a requirement for any cryptographc module that will be used by a U.S. government department or agency. Drummond Certification™ AS3-1Q07 (Applicability Statement 3), which validates the security, reliable delivery, receipt validation and interoperability of applications that exchange files and documents over the Internet using file transfer protocol (FTP). "Sterling Commerce is a global industry leader in providing support for industry and technology standards to its customers. Security standards are particularly important for customers such as the U.S. government, banks and other financial institutions, retailers, or any company in any industry that cares about data privacy laws and its organization's reputation,” said Chris Johnson, vice president, Integration Suite product line for Sterling Commerce. "Customers can rely on our 30-plus years of experience in enabling secure communication and integration between enterprises, and our commitment to providing up-to-date certifications for important security standards.” The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has created the FIPS guidelines to provide stringent third-party assurance of security claims on any product containing cryptography that may be purchased by a government agency. Many security-conscious communities, such as government departments and agencies, have mandated that only products that meet the FIPS 140-2 standard can be used. The following Sterling Commerce solutions use a cryptographic module that has been awarded the FIPS 140-2 Validation: Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules: Gentran Integration Suite™ (GIS), a flexible integration platform that creates unprecedented visibility and control over collaborative customer/partner processes. Multi-Enterprise Finance Gateway (MEFG), an integration platform based on GIS that enables financial services institutions to address a wide variety of bank-to-bank, bank-to-corporate and application integration challenges with a single, secure, highly scalable solution framework. Connect:Direct Secure+, a configurable authentication and encryption solution for Connect:Direct. The AS3 standard extends the electronic data interchange-Internet (EDI-INT) series of standards by defining a vendor-neutral managed file transfer standard based on FTP, primarily intended for use with files or documents too large to be reliably delivered by the AS2 standard, a separate messaging standard for B2B e-commerce. Sterling Commerce solutions awarded the Drummond Certification AS3-1Q07 (Applicability Statement 3; AS3) include GIS and MEFG. Sterling Commerce’s best-of-breed, service-oriented architecture (SOA)-based B2B, EAI and MFT solutions integrate processes inside and outside the four walls of the enterprise so customers can connect with their business communities. These Sterling Commerce integration solutions support global industry standards, any-to-any data translation, rules-based routing, trading partner on-boarding and real-time visibility. About Sterling Commerce Sterling Commerce, a subsidiary of AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), helps customers thrive in a global economy by connecting their business communities, processes, people and technology. More than 30,000 customers worldwide – including 80 percent of the Fortune 500 – use Sterling Commerce solutions for business process integration, multi-channel selling, and supply chain fulfillment to improve profitability inside and outside their company walls. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Sterling Commerce has offices in 19 countries and most major cities around the world. More information on the company can be found at www.sterlingcommerce.com.