PCMCIA Establishes Security Card Working Group The dream of a standardized encryption interface may soon be realized! San Jose, Calif., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- PCMCIA has formed a new Working Group dedicated to standardizing and promoting the PC Card as an interface for data encryption and digital signature applications. The Working Group was formed to work within the PCMCIA Technical Committee to help the Association define and standardize the capabilities and requirements for PC Card Security Card devices. The Group's immediate goals are to define the necessary extensions to the PC Card Standard that will allow easy identification of Security Card devices, and to proactively identify other vendors in the market and solicit their support for standardizing PC Cards as a security device. The formation of this Group represents the formalization of an industry trend. A standardized form factor and interface for security devices is finally an attainable goal thanks to the widespread acceptance of PC Card technology," said Gary Visser, a senior software engineer with Spyrus Communications and Co-Chairperson of the Working Group. "It is this high level of host support that will promote PC Cards as a solution for electronic banking and commerce." PC Cards are seen by many experts as an ideal solution for digital signature and data encryption applications due to the established base of PC Card slots, and because most security applications are math intensive and require the processing power and storage of computers. The proposal to form the Group was presented to PCMCIA by Spyrus, Inc. of San Jose, California. The group will be co-chaired by Edward Tuggle of IBM Corporation and Visser of Spyrus, Inc. Visit PCMCIA's World Wide Web site at <http://www.pc-card.com>. Contact: Greg Barr, Public Relations Coordinator, of PCMCIA, 408-433-2273, ext. 114, or <gbarr@pcmcia.org>.