Identity Engines Supports Open1X

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Identity Engines, aleading provider of identity-centric access control for securenetworks, today announced that the company is a founding member ofthe OpenSEA Alliance, a newly formed group dedicated to providingopen source networking and security alternatives in order toaccelerate technology adoption and enhance network security. In itsinitial project, the OpenSEA Alliance plans to develop a robustcross-platform open source 802.1X supplicant that models the popularFirefox web browser in that it will be extremely reliable, widelydistributed, and readily available. In addition to financialsupport, Identity Engines is assisting the Alliance through theprofessional contributions of employees who are actively engaged inthe direction and development of the open-source 802.1X supplicantsupported by the OpenSEA Alliance.

Sean Convery, Identity Engines' CTO, was appointed a board member atthe founding of the OpenSEA Alliance and concurrently serves asTreasurer. Chris Hessing will continue as chair of the Open1X ProjectManagement Committee (PMC) that is responsible for directing thedevelopment of the open-source 802.1X supplicant. Hessing haschaired the Open1X PMC since its inception and has also been the leaddeveloper on the project since 2002. Under Hessing's leadership, theOpen1X project has become one of the leading supplicants availablefor Linux. To further jumpstart the open-source supplicant project,Identity Engines is also contributing the talents of three engineersincluding two other members of the PMC and a graphical user interfacedesign expert.

Identity Engines' dedication to accelerating the 802.1X port-basedauthentication standard has placed its customers well ahead of thecurve in securing complex wireless and wired environments. Withinthe OpenSEA Alliance, Identity Engines is further committed toencouraging 802.1X adoption by accelerating the development oftechnologies that make deployment of 802.1X-compatible infrastructurea practical reality for enterprises and universities alike. Inaddition, the company will conduct sneak previews of the OpenSEAXsupplicant at Interop, booth #1014, May 22-24, in Las Vegas.

"I am excited to be involved in the OpenSEA Alliance initiative,"said Sean Convery. "Identity is at the center of network security'songoing advancement; OpenSEA's efforts to promote interoperableenterprise-grade 802.1X deployments will help push this evolution evenfurther."

Identity Engines Inc.