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Intersil Announces Advanced Security Solution for Wireless LAN

-- Intersil provides advanced, multi-protocol support over 802.1x

IRVINE, CA, June 10, 2002 – Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ: ISIL), a world leader in the design and manufacture of high performance analog and wireless networking solutions, today announced an advanced security solution for 802.11 Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) — a significant first step toward a totally automated and secure wireless environment.

Intersil’s new security software extends 802.1x support to legacy Microsoft® Windows® operating systems including Windows 98, 2000 and ME. It adds complete support for all the major authentication standards including, EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS, Cisco’s LEAP and MD5. The package includes a fully automated tool for recognizing the security environment and automatically adapting the client for optimal connection.

“While standard Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption provided some level of security and privacy in the WLAN space, authentication of the user and the ability to rapidly change the encryption key to foil hackers and eavesdroppers have been the missing elements,” said Dave Feller, director of marketing for Intersil’s Wireless Networking Product Group. “Built into the Windows XP operating system, 802.1x provides an elegant solution for key distribution. Intersil’s new solution extends those security elements to legacy operating systems and incorporates automatic authentication. The end user is then provided a totally secure environment without any extra effort or knowledge of the technical details."

“This is the most significant advancement in security since the incorporation of WEP,” said Larry Ciaccia, vice president and general manager of Intersil’s Wireless Networking Product Group. "It demonstrates Intersil’s continued leadership in all aspects of wireless LAN systems.”

Designed to address today’s security needs, Intersil’s secure supplicant is flexible enough to quickly upgrade to the rapidly evolving security protocols and IEEE standards including all industry standard security upgrades eventually culminating in 802.11i. The software helps reduce user interaction while providing an optimal, easy-to-manage, automated and secure WLAN experience. About Intersil
Intersil Corporation manufactures and markets high performance analog and wireless networking solutions. As a global semiconductor leader, Intersil focuses on four of the industry's fastest growing markets – flat panel displays, optical storage (CD and DVD recordable), power management and wireless networking. Intersil brings added customer value in providing complete silicon, software and reference design solutions to new products that enhance the computing experience for people wherever they live, work or travel. For more information about Intersil or to find out how to become a member of our winning team, visit the company's web site and career page at www.intersil.com.

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