Cambridge Company Develops Secure Internet Technology

A lack of security has traditionally prevented firms from conducting business on the Internet--a global data communications network--but a small Cambridge software company is looking to change that.

The company, Open Market Inc., located in the northeastern corner of Cambridge, has developed a WebServer technology that would allow secure transmission of confidential information such as credit card numbers over the Internet.

Founded just last year, Open Market is a rapidly expanding company which develops and markets software and solutions to facilitate electronic commerce on the Internet and the World Wide Web.

Open Market signed a deal last month with First Union, one of the ten largest banks in the country, to establish what could eventually be the first full-service Internet bank, according to Thomas J. Kutter, who works in the division of technical support and handles customer relations for Open Market.

This new technology developed could begin a revolution in commerce, as other companies rush to join the growing wave of businesses seeking footholds on the Internet.

"For the first time, you have a network where businesses and consumers can get together without intermediaries," Robert Weinberger, vice president of marketing at Open Market, told the Associated Press this month.

"That's why businesses are so excited to do business on the 'Net," he said. "But since it is an open market, you need to address security."

Because of security concerns, many companies have not yet set up on-line transactions, although they have signed many deals with technology companies, Kutter said.

"As far as I know, there have been a lot of partnerships in the industry, [such as] Microsoft and Visa," he said. "I believe our work with First Union is more extensive and is a working model while the others are just signed partnerships."

Open Market's deal with First Union's CommunityCommerce Service will begin with a handful of businesses willing to undergo a six-month test of the WebServer technology.

Marianna Sheridan, a spokesperson for First Union told the Associated Press that the number of businesses on-line through CommunityCommerce could rise to 500 by the end of the year if all goes well.

Kutter said the deal was made to automate their credit card processing over the Internet.

Sheridan said the deal could be expanded to handle debit card withdrawals directly from checking accounts. The system will take three to four months before beginning to conduct secure transactions, she said.

Allure of Technology

The allure of Open Market's new secure technology is that it is browser-independent. In other words, the system is the first in the industry to support all secure Web browsers, such as Mosaic and Netscape, Kutter said.

The technology works by adding a second level of encryption to standard security measures used in the industry. Instead of traveling over the Internet, the data stays encoded at a database in Open Market.

The technology takes advantage of two developing forms of communication security.

"The project and many of the other projects we are working on that will use encryption to transmit credit card numbers and other secure information," Kutter said. "This is used with two protocols: SSL and S-http."

The S-http Web technology, which stands for secure hypertext transfer protocol, is regarded as the emerging standard for Web security, and SSL is an alternative security approach which is used in the Netscape browser, he said.

Kutter said the company, which currently has about 50 employees, moved this weekend from its offices on 215 First St. to 245 First St.

"We moved because our office space here could not hold the number of employees since we are growing rapidly," Kutter said.

Kutter said the company has three main areas of business, one of which is the WebServer technology.

"Second is Open Marketplace where we will be creating a [set] of tools where one can create storefronts on the Internet," Kutter said. "The third is working with larger businesses to facilitate their businesses on the Internet."

The company offers a complete electronic infrastructure for establishing and managing a business on the Internet, ranging from on-line store creation for small businesses to custom business solutions for larger corporations.

Working with the larger companies is the company's most profitable area, Kutter said, but "only because the server products and the Open Marketplace are still in development."

"Both are coming on-line very soon or were just recently released, so we assume in the near future those areas will pick up too," he said.

Open Market can be reached over the World Wide Web at http://www.openmarket.com.