WISeKey joins digitalswitzerland aiming the development of a concerted approach to public and private issues in the field of digital technologies

WISeKey joins digitalswitzerland aiming the development of a concerted approach to public and private issues in the field of digital technologies

Geneva, Switzerland – May 27, 2021 – WISeKey International Holding Ltd ("WISeKey” SIX: WIHN, NASDAQ: WKEY), a leading Swiss cybersecurity, AI and IoT company, announced today that it has joined digitalswitzerland, the Swiss-wide cross-industry and multi-stakeholders initiative that aims to strengthen and anchor Switzerland as a leading global location for digital innovation.

”digitalswitzerland is proud to have Wisekey as its new member to reinforce the transversality of its members’ and partners’ base. Cybersecurity is a key and strategic topic in the digital environment and we are pleased to have a worldwide leader in the field as an active contributor to the Swiss ecosystem,” said Sebastien Kulling, Deputy Managing Director and Head of Western Switzerland of digitalswitzerland.

"WISeKey is pleased to have joined the National Platform of Digital Actors, with the purpose of developing a concerted approach to public and private issues in the field of digital technologies. As such, WISeKey will propose a concrete agenda to advance the public debate on issues related to data, such as protection, authentication and certification,” said Pierre Maudet, Chief Digital Transformation Officer of WISeKey.

In order to operate in the market of digital identities, a high level of trust needs to be built up. This level of trust is not built overnight and is earned by years of flawless execution and by demonstrating a governance model and culture aimed at avoiding conflicts of interest.

Mr. Maudet added, "Since its foundation in 1999, WISeKey has continuously nurtured its trust model which has allowed it to build up its Swiss heritage. As a Swiss-domiciled Company, backed by the OISTE foundation, WISeKey has partnered with international organizations, giving it a geo-political advantage that none of our competitors can match. The Swiss domesticity and the collaboration with the OISTE foundation and many international organizations to guard and manage its root keys gives WISeKey a unique trust model that has been accepted and adopted by leading international organizations, corporations and governments worldwide. The governance and heritage of our Trust Model is a significant barrier for new entrants in our target markets. Based on OISTE, our Trust Model allows root certification whereby digital identities are technically recognized by today’s office applications (browsers and e-mail systems) and provides a governance model that ensures independence of geopolitical forces, capital and other forces. This heritage has been critical for both private sector and public sector organizations.”

WISeKey promotes trust and security of electronic communications worldwide and seeks to ensure compliance with essential rights related to information protection online, such as privacy laws. Today’s online world is plagued by the lack of respect for privacy rights which is having a substantial impact in the day-to-day use of the Internet (e.g. spam, email list buying/selling, commercialization of personal data, identity theft, etc.). Due to its trust model, WISeKey is in a very strong strategic position to be the preferred trusted provider of technologies that protect privacy rights online whilst enabling people to maximize the use of the Internet.

Other initiatives in which WISeKey is involved include the United Nations Global Compact, Digital Solidarity Fund, Clinton Global Foundation Initiative, World Economic Forum Global Growth Companies, Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI), Trust Valley, G8 Cybersecurity Working Group, OASIS (non-profit consortium driving open standards for global information society), Hyperledger, Blockchain Research Institute, Blockchain Center of Excellence, Trust Protocol Association, Liberty Alliance (non-profit promoting identity-related international interoperability standards) and International Telecommunication Union, among others.

About WISeKey
WISeKey (NASDAQ: WKEY; SIX Swiss Exchange: WIHN) is a leading global cybersecurity company currently deploying large scale digital identity ecosystems for people and objects using Blockchain, AI and IoT respecting the Human as the Fulcrum of the Internet. WISeKey microprocessors secure the pervasive computing shaping today’s Internet of Everything. WISeKey IoT has an install base of over 1.5 billion microchips in virtually all IoT sectors (connected cars, smart cities, drones, agricultural sensors, anti-counterfeiting, smart lighting, servers, computers, mobile phones, crypto tokens etc.). WISeKey is uniquely positioned to be at the edge of IoT as our semiconductors produce a huge amount of Big Data that, when analyzed with Artificial Intelligence (AI), can help industrial applications to predict the failure of their equipment before it happens.

Our technology is Trusted by the OISTE/WISeKey’s Swiss based cryptographic Root of Trust ("RoT”) provides secure authentication and identification, in both physical and virtual environments, for the Internet of Things, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence. The WISeKey RoT serves as a common trust anchor to ensure the integrity of online transactions among objects and between objects and people. For more information, visit www.wisekey.com.

About digitalswitzerland
digitalswitzerland is a Swiss-wide, cross-industry initiative that aims to strengthen and anchor Switzerland as a leading global location for digital innovation. Under the umbrella of digitalswitzerland, more than 220 association members and non-political foundation partners work together transversally to achieve this goal.

Press and investor contacts:
WISeKey:
Carlos Moreira         WISeKey Investor Relations (US)
Chairman & CEO         Lena Cati
info@wisekey.com         lcati@equityny.com
Tel. +41 22 594 3000         Tel. +1 212 836-9611

Disclaimer:
This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning WISeKey International Holding Ltd and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of WISeKey International Holding Ltd to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. WISeKey International Holding Ltd is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and it does not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of article 652a or article 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of WISeKey and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of WISeKey.