SurfControl announces licensing agreement with First 4 Internet for development of Image Recognition software engine

Business Wire, May 2, 2001

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2001

SurfControl to include Image Recognition in future product

families

SurfControl, the Internet Filtering Company, is pleased to announce today a licensing agreement with First 4 Internet Limited ("F4i"), a provider of image recognition software based in Oxford, England.

Under the terms of the agreement, F4i will license their image categorization and learning capability software package to SurfControl for the purposes of development and distribution by SurfControl of an "image engine" software package, enabling SurfControl customers to automate the categorization of images contained in computer data files.

F4i will receive revenues on a royalty basis relating to the level of sales of SurfControl products incorporating the image recognition feature.

It is expected that products with the optional image feature will be available during the next financial year.

Steve Purdham, CEO of SurfControl, commented, "As Filtering becomes more of a 'must have' product it is important to be able to enhance our policy engines to understand increasing types of content. The addition of an image recognition feature for our world-leading web and email products is an integral part of our continued development plan for the future. After evaluating and testing a number of products on the market over the last 12 months, we concluded that F4i provided the most comprehensive and advanced image recognition software platform available, correctly identifying and categorizing around 95% of the images that it scans. We are delighted to be partnering with them to offer this additional feature to our new and existing customer base."

Mathew Gilliat-Smith, F4i, added, "SurfControl is recognized as being a world leader in the provision of Internet filtering software and we are extremely pleased that it has chosen our technology above the competition to be the platform for their Image Engine. It is estimated that 27% of Fortune 500 companies have battled harassment claims stemming from employee misuse of email and Internet systems. According to IDC Research 30 to 40% of employee Internet activity is not business related and costs employers millions of dollars in lost productivity. There is a clear need for technology to help control this rising problem."

SurfControl recently announced the launch of its email filtering software, SuperScout Email Filter which is well positioned to lead the content security market, offering key features including intelligent rules processing, pre-categorized database of content and secure remote management.

The addition of image recognition into the range of products will further increase SurfControl's strength in the web and email filtering market, which is expected to be worth almost $4bn between 2000-2004.

About SurfControl - The Internet Filtering Company

SurfControl plc (London:SRF/EASDAQ:SRFC), is a world leader in Internet filtering solutions for use by corporations, in the home and education. The SurfControl family of products employs expert filtering, Pass-Through, and Pass-By technologies to create a productive Internet environment in the workplace and a child safe environment on the Internet at home and at school.

This comprehensive line of Internet monitoring and policy management solutions includes SuperScout Web Filter- the market leader in Internet productivity in the corporation; SuperScout Email Filter - managing content security; CyberPatrol - the market leader in responsible Internet usage in the home and at school; and the SurfControl Content Filtering SDK - the proven filtering solution for ISPs, Search Engines, Internet Appliances and ASPs.

SurfControl works with a variety of partners such as AT&T, Check Point Software (NASDAQ:CHKP), Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), Hewlett Packard (NYSE:HWP), IBM (NYSE:IBM), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), and Microsoft's Web TV (NASDAQ:MSFT).

SurfControl employs 347 people worldwide and has 8 offices in the USA in California and Massachusetts; in the UK in Manchester and London; in Rotterdam, Holland; Vienna, Austria; Frankfurt, Germany and Sydney, Australia.

For further information and news on SurfControl, please visit http://www.surfcontrol.com

About F4i

First 4 Internet is a UK-based developer of advanced software applications. The company headquarters are in Oxford with regional offices in Cardiff and London. First 4 Internet was founded in November 1999. First 4 Internet's partners include SurfControl and Messagelabs. First 4 Internet also provides community building software for brand leaders including Adidas and Kellogg's.