Broadcom Announces New Security Processors That Combine Protocol Processing, Cryptographic Acceleration, and Hardware-Based Identity Management and Authentication in a Single-Chip Design

New CryptoNetX™ Product Family Integrates Next-Generation Security Features to Optimize Network Security and Performance

IRVINE, Calif., Oct 24, 2005 -- Broadcom Corporation (Nasdaq: BRCM), a global leader in wired and wireless broadband communications semiconductors, today announced its next-generation line of security processors that combine IP Security (IPSec) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol processing, cryptographic acceleration, and hardware-based identity management and authentication into a single-chip solution. By incorporating this level of advanced functionality into a single-chip design, Broadcom's new highly integrated security "protocol" processors can be utilized for applications such as enterprise routing and e-commerce transactions and are optimized for SSL-based appliances, firewall appliances, and mid- to high-end virtual private networks (VPNs).

IT professionals are constantly coping with ever-increasing instances of system hacking, identity theft and virus attacks to their enterprise networks. Increases in telecommuting and remote network use are boosting the demand for more secure connections from the home or remote locations to the enterprise. As the workforce becomes more distributed, corporations are searching for stronger methods of protecting their networks and users from attack, hence the growing requirement for stronger security.

Security protocol processing and BroadSAFE™, Broadcom's hardware-based identity management and authentication technology are crucial elements for conducting secure and authenticated Internet transactions that protect users' assets in commonplace consumer activities such as online banking and e-commerce transactions. Broadcom® BroadSAFE technology enables OEMs to build Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS)-certified systems with strong key management and identity management functionality, while significantly reducing the cost of traditional security implementations.

"Broadcom's new CryptoNetX™ security protocol processors, with increased performance, functionality and versatility, enable our customers to integrate security into their existing networks in a way that is more secure, simple, scalable and cost-effective," said Joe Wallace, Senior Director of Broadcom's Security Line of Business. "Broadcom's latest product offerings provide strong network security without a trade-off in performance, reinforcing our commitment to satisfy our customers' present and future security processing requirements."

New Security Protocol Processors Boost System Performance

Announced today are three new security protocol processors (the BCM5860, BCM5861 and BCM5862) that include either PCI-X® or PCI Express® host bus architectures. Each of these new chips provides high-performance cryptographic acceleration and the ability to offload a significant amount of security processing functions from the host processor, resulting in higher performance and optimal CPU utilization. The BroadSAFE technology included in each chip provides secure key storage and usage functionality which is essential to guard against hacking, identity theft and virus attacks on enterprise networks. This functionality eliminates the need to have a dedicated hardware security module in each client device and, therefore, can reduce the cost of complying with the FIPS standard to nearly nothing.

"Broadcom has taken a great leap forward with its new security protocol processors," said Linley Gwennap, principal analyst of The Linley Group. "With IPSec protocol processing, SSL record layer processing, and BroadSAFE, these products address the growing need for stronger security without impacting network performance. The performance of the BCM586x products hits the sweet spot of the market today, making them strong choices for most customers."

These newly announced security processors provide a significant performance and security advantages over standard cryptographic processors due to their ability to support advanced protocol processing and their BroadSAFE functionality. The performance can reach up to 2 Gigabits per second (Gbps) of IPSec protocol processing and 14,000 RSA transactions per second. The CryptoNetX security protocol processors offer direct handling of IPv4 and IPv6 packets in IPSec applications, as well as SSL record processing support. As a result, they can be seamlessly integrated into customer VPN and SSL applications.

Availability

Broadcom's new CryptoNetX security protocol processors consist of three products ranging from medium to high performance and are available in PCI-X or PCI Express interfaces. The products include:

•  BCM5860 (500 Mbps, 4,600 RSA transactions per second)
•  BCM5861 (1 Gbps, 7,000 RSA transactions per second)
•  BCM5862 (2 Gbps, 14,000 RSA transactions per second).

All three security processors are available in 400-pin PBGA packages and are currently sampling to early access customers. Product pricing is available upon request.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation is a global leader in wired and wireless broadband communications semiconductors. Our products enable the convergence of high-speed data, high definition video, voice and audio at home, in the office and on the go. Broadcom provides manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices with the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and software solutions. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything®.

Broadcom is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies, with annual revenue of more than $2 billion. The company is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., with offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at 1-949-450-8700 or at www.broadcom.com.