Who We Are
TecSec®, Incorporated, founded in 1990, is a privately held company located just outside of Washington, DC. Through a large library of patents and ever-growing intellectual property, TecSec provides (1) Information Assurance products for the network and desktop, (2) Information Management and Dynamic, Assured Information Sharing through cryptographically enforced Role Based Access Control (RBAC) and (3) CKM Enabled® Solutions, for example, for Digital Rights Management (e.g. secure distribution of newly released, first run movies) and for Critical Infrastructure Protection (e.g. SCADA, Utilities).
TecSec’s information assurance business mission is to ensure that network perimeter defenses (firewalls, anti-virus etc.) must be supplemented with the protection of network content. TecSec's products and solutions, using the company’s award-winning, standards based Constructive Key Management® (CKM®) technology, provide this assurance.
Through a primarily client-based 21st Century key management system designed especially for the world of large networks and virtual networks, CKM brings Privacy and Confidentiality to message content, independent of the means of electronic transport. Accordingly, CKM technology has the potential to enhance the full range of all likely digitized applications, including wireless and Voice Over IP (VOIP). CKM Enabled® solutions can be employed as software, firmware, hardware or in a combination of applications.
Desktop software is being fully utilized in Homeland Security and related areas. Customer consciousness of security needs are increasing in response to the sophisticated threats they confront; this is coupled with the realization that existing solutions that reinforce PKI and other network perimeter defenses are no longer adequate, thus demanding further advanced, total impenetrable protection. The TecSec CKM Enabled information assurance solution array provides this security, reduces administrative costs and provides scalability.
CKM technology is currently being employed as a solution for Critical Infrastructure Protection of SCADA systems—both for the Department of Energy and the Department of Homeland Security. Further, TecSec is part of a team supporting the American Gas Association (AGA) and the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) in developing the AGA 12 Report—a recommended practice for Cryptographic Protection of SCADA communications.
In the Defense sector, CKM has been a component for DCTS and JWIDS and is being submitted for Horizontal Fusion.
TecSec’s CKM technology is a standard in CMS (Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services) for the administration of network protection for Medicare/Medicai. Personal healthcare information transmission (and stored data) must meet the Privacy and Confidentiality requirements of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and is becoming CKM protected in response to the requirement standard.
CKM-enabled Smart Tokens® (available as ISO 7816 smart cards or USB fobs) bring identification, authentication and authorization, plus access control to operating systems supporting diverse providers and accessed by diverse users – isolating each application. This is accomplished with total scalability. With this end-to-end security, the Token issuer as well as the application provider gain substantial protection through mitigated liability risk management. In addition, all cardholder data stored on the card is augmented with CKM protected privacy and confidentiality.
TecSec's leadership personnel are:
Edward M. Scheidt, Founder & Chief Scientist
John R. Petty, Chairman
C. Jay Wack, President and CTO
Ed Scheidt, Founder & Chief Scientist
Before founding TecSec in 1990, Ed held a variety of positions during his 26-year career at the US Central Intelligence Agency. He was Chairman of a Cryptographic Center at the CIA prior to retiring. Stemming from an operational background, Ed recognized the changing nature of communication patterns as PCs proliferated and were then formed into networks. Encryption that originated for primarily one-to-one communications faced new and substantially different key management requirements in large network or virtual network environments. ANSI X9.69 standard reflects this reality.
In forming TecSec and building the company's large IP library, he anticipated the flexibility and mobility required of 21st Century communication systems with a key management system that is primarily client-based and much less dependent upon a central server. The relative scalability achieved by this approach, together with encryption at the object level, provides enforced role based access and granularity not otherwise available. Ed remains deeply involved in the company's product development and expanding application solutions, just as he is in general management.
John Petty, Chairman
John commenced with TecSec in 1996 as investor and full-time business advisor. John's business experience began in the 1950s at Chase Bank. He served in the US Treasury for six years under both Presidents Johnson and Nixon, primarily as Assistant Secretary for International Affairs. In 1972, he joined Lehman Brothers as a partner and Director. From late 1976 until 1988 he was President or Chairman CEO of Marine Midland Bank, up to its 100% acquisition by HSBC.
Subsequently, he chaired the Inter-American Development Bank's High Level Review Committee, an international group, to advise on the development strategy of the Bank for the 1990s. Early in the 1990s, he formed the Federal National Services family of companies as well as the Czechoslovak American Enterprise Fund (venture capital). John became Chairman of TecSec in 1997. Since 1972 John has served or serves on public Boards of Directors, including RCA, NBC, HSBC, Hercules Inc., Himont, Inc., Equity Funding Inc., Anixter International and ARRIS.
Jay Wack, President and CTO
Jay began his career in electronics via the US Army in 1967 thru 1970 with 18 months in Viet Nam. Upon his return he worked for Ampex as a field engineer while attending Univ of Maryland studying Computer Science. Jay spent the next 20 years as an application engineer for Intel Corporation and National Semiconductor, serving the Mid-Atlantic Government market. Jay has been involved in the successful custom design of Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) as well as many embedded micro controller based products and programs for government and commercial customers.
In 1989, while addressing the data integrity issues on the Space Shuttle sensor network, Jay and Ed Scheidt were introduced and the two have been together as TecSec since then.
In 1995, Jay took an 18 month sabbatical from TecSec to work for the US Government as a technical advisor for Smart Card programs. This concentrated effort began the work that has now resulted in the TecSec Eagle Smart Card solution and its application as the Citizen’s Benefit Card.
Jay has been awarded over a dozen US patents in the area of cryptography and security product design.