CERTICOM APPOINTS NEW CEO

Ian McKinnon Brings Operational Management and International Business Development Expertise with Public and Private High Tech Growth Companies 

HAYWARD, Calif., February 28, 2002 - Certicom Corp. (Nasdaq: CERT; TSE: CIC), a leading provider of mobile e-business security, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Ian McKinnon to the role of President and Chief Executive Officer. McKinnon will also become a member of Certicom's Board of Directors. 

"We are very grateful to the Office of the President for the great work they accomplished during the last several quarters. They successfully guided Certicom through the diverse challenges posed by the economic downturn, and now the Company has posted its third quarter in a row of exceeding expectations," said Bernard Crotty, Chairman of Certicom's Board of Directors. "We are pleased to announce that we have completed our extensive CEO search and are excited to welcome Ian McKinnon as Certicom's new President and Chief Executive Officer. Ian brings a wealth of experience and complimentary strengths to the Company, including a strong background in sales and operational management as well as international business development. We are confident that Ian will provide outstanding leadership to guide Certicom as we capitalize on the expanding opportunities in the global security market." 

With the appointment of a new CEO (effective March 11, 2002), all senior management will report to McKinnon, who will be based in the Company's Mississauga, Ontario offices. 

"I'm very proud to accept this appointment and excited about the promising future at Certicom. With renowned products and technology, world-class employees, and a long list of blue-chip customers and partners, I see great opportunities to leverage Certicom's strong leadership position to both capture new markets and to further dominate the wireless security industry," said McKinnon. "As the proliferation of wireless devices increases and multinational corporations continue to go mobile, Certicom is providing mission-critical security, privacy and trust for Internet and wireless transactions and communications of all kinds." 

About Ian McKinnon
Ian McKinnon is a proven chief executive with over 20 years of experience in the Information Technology industry. Before accepting the chief executive role at Certicom, McKinnon was the CEO of several privately held, Toronto-based firms. Prior to that, he was President and CEO of Promis Systems Corporation (TSE: PSW) of Toronto, Ontario, from 1995 until 2000. 

Promis was a provider of semiconductor and precision electronics manufacturing software to the global electronics industry. In McKinnon's first two years as chief executive, Promis' revenue increased 22% compounded annually, following a sales decline of approximately 20% in the prior year. McKinnon successfully drove international growth in Asia-Pacific by 64% compounded annually, and in Europe by 28% annually during his first two years, while taking Promis from a net loss of over $11.4 million (US) to a net profit (before taxes) of $3.6 million. Promis was awarded the Financial Post's annual investor relations award in 1997, and McKinnon won an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 1998. Promis was acquired by PRI Automation (Nasdaq: PRIA) of Billerica, Massachusetts in March 1999. McKinnon continued as VP and General Manager of PRI Software Systems Division for approximately one year subsequent to the acquisition, ensuring a smooth transition for both customers and employees. 

After beginning his high-tech career as a sales representative for NCR, McKinnon spent fourteen years with Digital Equipment Corporation in successively increasing roles of responsibility in international management, sales, operations, and business development. The culmination of his career at Digital was a three-year assignment as Managing Director of Digital Equipment Singapore, where he successfully drove revenue growth 26% (compounded annually) in two years to $80 million. 

About Certicom

Certicom is a leading provider of information security software and services, specializing in solutions for mobile e-business. The company's products and services are specifically designed to address the challenges imposed by a wireless data environment. Certicom's solutions incorporate its efficient encryption technology and are based on industry standards for information security that utilize public key cryptography. Certicom's products are currently licensed to more than 300 customers including Cisco Systems, Inc., Handspring Inc., Motorola, Inc., Nortel Networks, Openwave Systems, Inc., Palm, Inc., QUALCOMM, Inc., Research In Motion Ltd., Sony International (Europe) GmbH, and Verizon Communications Inc. Certicom's headquarters and worldwide sales and marketing operations are based in the Silicon Valley in Hayward. For more information, visit Certicom's Web site at http://www.certicom.com

Certicom is a trademark of Certicom Corp. All other companies and products listed herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. 

Except for historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially. Factors that might cause a difference include, but are not limited to, those relating to the acceptance of mobile and wireless devices and the continued growth of e-commerce and m-commerce, the increase of the demand for mutual authentication in m-commerce transactions, the acceptance of Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) technology as an industry standard, the market acceptance of our principal products and sales of our customer's products, the impact of competitive products and technologies, the possibility of our products infringing patents and other intellectual property of fourth parties, and costs of product development. Certicom will not update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. More detailed information about potential factors that could affect Certicom's financial results is included in the documents Certicom files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian securities regulatory authorities. 

For further information, please contact: 

Lorraine Kauffman  
Corporate Communications  
Certicom Corp.  
(510) 780-5417  
lkauffman@certicom.com