MOSCOW and GENEVA, April 14, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- WISeKey, a World Economic Forum High Growth Company, is expanding its global footprint via a group of strategic partnerships with key partners. WISeKey's global expansion is targeting BRIC economies as a priority, with several major wins in the latest months in Brazil, Russian Federation, India and China. This enhances existing operations in the USA and Middle East from the Swiss Hub, converting WISeKey to one of the fastest growing eSecurity companies in the world.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100414/386748 )

I-Teco is a leading Russian systems integrator and supplier of information technologies for corporate and state customers, established in 1997 with a current turnover of more than 10 billion rubles. I-Teco employs more than 1000 people including 800 highly skilled IT-specialists, and possesses over 500 industry certificates including ISO. I-Teco is among TOP500 Russian largest companies and TOP5 consulting groups in development and IT systems integration (ratings of Expert RA). In 2007 I-Teco was recognized as the IT-company of the year in the field of system integration (RBC/CNews Awards), and twice - in 2007 and 2009 - as the most attractive employer (Superjob.ru).

Carlos Moreira, Founder, Chairman of the Board and CEO of WISeKey said: The economic outlook for Russia is very bright and this joint venture enables WISeKey to respond faster to marketplace dynamics. Our company will be in a better position to strategically invest in Russia and accelerate our growth.

WISeKey's partnership with I-Teco establishes an alliance between two leading companies whose values and product portfolios represent a rich legacy of bringing leading eSecurity technology and services to consumers in Russia and around the world. This will allow our company to provide Secure Cloud Computing and security services from Russia with a localized High Security datacenter in Moscow.

Alexei Remizov, Chairman of the Board of I-Teco said, The joint venture provides WISeKey a platform to expand its successfully branded products to the Russian market and to export world class Russian technology and services to international markets. WISeKey's partnership with I-Teco leverages both firms' strengths and will enable us to expand eSecurity and Trusted Services such as Cloud Computing and Digital Identification much faster and more efficiently across Russia and the region, substantially increasing revenues and profitability.

Anna Lipowska, Executive Board Member of WISeKey Russia, said: This cooperation allows two leading IT companies to expand their business by combining Swiss neutrality, Russian know-how, and state of art technologies. This is a powerful model that will be replicated throughout the Central Eastern Europe (CEE) region.

Dimitry Malyshev General Manager WISeKey Russia said: Swiss eSecurity combined with the experience and talents of I-Teco experts responds to the highest requirements of Russian governmental institutions and private sector. The joint venture will manufacture next generation eSecurity products in Russia to be distributed worldwide.

Under the Joint Venture agreement, WISeKey and I-Teco will become financial and operational founders of the new entity - WISeKey Russia, headquartered in Moscow. I-Teco will be the exclusive distributor of WISeKey technologies, services and products in Russia and will provide WISeKey Russia with the required datacenter infrastructure allowing trusted cloud-computing services.

WISeKey (http://www.wisekey.com) is the one of the fastest growing eSecurity company in the world. A leading Swiss information security and identity management software and services firm headquartered in Geneva. Its mission is to facilitate the global growth of secure electronic transactions. It does so by supplying businesses, governments, and individuals with advanced technology and services that authenticates the identity of communicators, signatures, and objects during Internet transactions.

I-Teco (http://www.i-teco.ru) I-TECO provides systems of information security, integration services, consulting, service support and outsourcing, it implements complex, integrated IT-infrastructure solutions for major state structures, industrial and telecommunications companies, financial and insurance companies and small and medium businesses. Since its foundation I-Teco has the right to work on projects related to the use of information containing state secrets, with the establishment of means to protect confidential information, development, production, maintenance and distribution of cryptographic tools, having obtained the required licenses of the FSB and Russian Federal Service for Technical and export control.

Picture is available via epa european pressphoto agency and can be downloaded free of charge at:

http://www.presseportal.de/pm/55044/wisekey_sa/?keygroup=bild

A picture accompanying this release is available on AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org (PRN7)

Contact: Carlos Moreira CEO WISeKey cmoreira@wisekey.com +41-22-594-30-05 Anna Lipowska WISeKey Russia alipowska@wisekey.com +41-22-594-30-05

SOURCE: WISeKey SA

CONTACT: Contact: Carlos Moreira, CEO WISeKey, cmoreira@wisekey.com,+41-22-594-30-05; Anna Lipowska, WISeKey Russia, alipowska@wisekey.com,+41-22-594-30-05