INDUSTRY

SANTA CLARA, CA -- Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: SUNW) today announced two significant and newly-created positions -- Chief Security Officer and Director of the newly created Sun Global Security Program Office. The positions are intended to further Sun's leadership in world-class, secure information technology products and coordinate the expansion of security-related product and services innovations. Sun's security expert Whitfield Diffie is appointed Chief Security Officer and Joanne Masters is appointed Director of Sun's Global Security Program Office. Both appointments are effective immediately. ``Sun has always understood that security is indispensable to enterprise computing in a network environment and has always provided products and services that reflect this understanding,'' comments Ed Zander, president and COO of Sun Microsystems. ``As our world becomes more and more connected, we see our customers looking for security that is effective, cost-effective and easy to use. Whitfield is recognized as one of the world's foremost experts in this field and eminently qualified to lead this important initiative.'' The key objectives of the Chief Security Officer and the Global Security Program Office are: To be an advocate for Sun's industry-leading security offerings with customers and partners, and educate them on key technology security issues. To expand Sun's relationship with key security organizations, nationally and internationally, in an effort to address the Internet's fragmented security environment. To anticipate and address future customer security requirements by a coordinated process across all of Sun Microsystems' research, product development assessment, marketing and sales. ``I always thought of Whit as Sun's Chief Security Officer,'' said Vint Cerf, WorldCom's Senior VP of Internet Architecture and Technology. ``This is well-deserved recognition of his stature in the security community, and a clear indication of Sun's commitment to securing information technology around which much of today's business, government and personal worlds now revolve. One of the industry's challenges is to find ways to make security less inconvenient without losing its effectiveness. If it can be done at all, Whit's the right man to do it.'' ``I have known Whitfield Diffie, his superior technical achievements and his advocacy for strong security in telecommunications, since my days as Director of the National Security Agency when we testified together before the U.S. Senate,'' comments Mike McConnell, a Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton leading the firm's Infrastructure Assurance, Information Operations, and Military Intelligence practices, and former Director of the National Security Agency. Mike also served as the intelligence officer for Gen. Powell during operation Desert Storm. ``Even more than our first encounter, I learned that cyber security is a critical issue of national importance. Not only is it important to national and economic security, it also impacts the very safety and privacy of our citizens and all those who use global telecommunications systems. In Whitfield Diffie, Sun Microsystems has chosen a leading national advocate and technical expert with broad-based business and policy expertise in the security field. This is an excellent choice to lead the industry's discussions around the critical areas of security.'' Whitfield Diffie, world-renowned authority on cryptography and security technology, joined Sun in 1991 after twelve years as manager of secure systems research at Northern Telecom. Diffie, working in Sun Labs, was one of the driving forces in the policy struggle that has led to legal recognition for the importance of advanced security technologies for modern society. Diffie is also famous as the inventor of the Public Key Encryption concept that underlies secure electronic commerce and is recognized in security and intelligence circles worldwide as an authority on information technology security issues. The Sun Microsystems Global Security Program Office will be led by Sun Microsystems Director Joanne Masters, working in partnership with Diffie. In addition to the objectives above, her charter will also be to drive cross-Sun Microsystems initiatives related to raising Sun's presence on Security issues.