KMail and mutt as Sphinx-clients for German authorities

October 1, the project for developing Free Software components
for email encryption following the Sphinx standard of the
German “Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik” (BSI).
was started.

The bid was accepted for the well-known Free Software companies
g10 Code GmbH (Werner Koch), Klarälvdalens Datakonsult AB (Kalle Dalheimer)
and Intevation GmbH (Bernhard Reiter).
The project prepares the base for Sphinx-enabling free mail user agents.
The popular programs KMail and mutt are already part of it.
Additionally, OpenPGP support and the address book of KMail will
be improved. All results of the open development are released
under the GNU GPL.

The specification project Sphinx was initiated by the BSI for secure
email exchange (signatures, encryption) based on S/MIME and X.509
for use by German authorities.

“The project realizes a future important element for GNU/Linux as
an alternative desktop for authorities and companies”,
explains Jan-Oliver Wagner, Managing Director of Intevation
who coordinates the project.

Developers can get information on the web page
www.gnupg.org/aegypten.

All developments of this project (entitled “Ägypten”)
are planned to be finished for the CeBIT 2002.

About Intevation:

Intevation GmbH, located in Osnabrück, Germany is a high level
free software consulting company. Beyond the technological
implications it empowers its clients to utilise the advantages
of free software culture and usable IT-solutions.
Intevation is main sponsor of the FreeGIS project and supports
the FSF Europe.

About g10 Code:

g10 Code GmbH is a software consulting company dedicated to the
development of security solutions using Free Software. g10 Code takes
responsibility for further development of GnuPG and consults for the
GNU project on cryptographic questions.

About Klarälvdalens Datakonsult:

Klarälvdalens Datakonsult AB is a small international software company with
headquarters in Hagfors, Sweden. Its employees work in Sweden, Germany, and
Denmark. The company specializes in platform-independent software solutions
and names DaimlerChrysler, IBM, and Intel among its customers. In 2001,
Klarälvdalens Datakonsult AB has launched a series of applications and libraries mainly targeted at developers. Courses and mentoring are also part of the
company’s offerings.