Telewest Communications Selects Ingrian Networks to Secure Its Online Billing System

Business Wire, July 23, 2002

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 23, 2002

Ingrian's Active Application Security Solution Protects Sensitive Customer Data for One of Europe's Largest Broadband Service Providers

Ingrian Networks, the leader in Active Application Security Solutions, today announced Telewest Communications (Nasdaq:TWSTY) -- one of Europe's largest providers of voice and data network services -- has selected Ingrian Networks to ensure the security and safety of its customers' sensitive billing information in transit within their eBilling infrastructure.

Telewest Communications currently delivers broadband, TV, telephone, and Internet services to some 2 million homes and business customers throughout the United Kingdom. As part of its commitment to customer service, Telewest aggressively decided to leverage the Internet to empower all of its residential and business customers with "anytime access" to their account and billing information. However, because the Internet is an inherently open communications environment, the need for a secure transaction and billing system was also essential.

Gradian Systems Ltd, one of Ingrian Networks SecureNet Channel Partners responded to this requirement by installing an Active Application Security solution from Ingrian Networks. These solutions -- which consist of an extensible, rack-mounted appliance combined with embedded security software intelligence -- actively manage several security functions to protect Telewest's customer data. For example, Ingrian solutions can actively set up and manage all SSL connections, manage private keys, administer certificates, cache static data (encrypted and clear text), isolate and discard potential threats, and authenticate individual users, and encrypt data for storage on back end systems.

"Our customers told us they wanted the flexibility of handling all their billing transactions via the web," said Paul Jay, Security and Risk Manager -- Internet & Interactive Services at Telewest. "Ingrian's Active Application Security products allow us to provide that capability within a safe, protected, application environment."

"Telewest required a security solution that was not only cost-effective and easy to deploy, but integrated seamlessly with IBM's Websphere," said Damian Acklam of Gradian Systems. "Ingrian's products were a natural fit because of their unmatched security, combined with scalability and administrative simplicity."

Ingrian Networks' active application security solutions are designed to proactively ensure secure information exchange -- end to end, from client to server, within the enterprise and across the Internet. Ingrian Networks helps prevent both external and internal threats to mission critical applications and data without degrading network performance or adding unwanted integration or administration complexity to the IT infrastructure. By integrating FIPS certified key management, backend data encryption, access management, intrusion protection, secure content caching, content switching and SSL acceleration into a single device, Ingrian Networks has enabled a highly secure and completely extensible networking infrastructure.

One of the unique features of the Ingrian Networks platform is its ability to secure data on web servers and databases in real-time by using powerful key management and innovative security technologies based on widely adopted encryption standards. These capabilities provide an additional, independent layer of defensive measures against attacks by hackers, viruses and Internet worms such as Nimda and Code Red, as well as future, as yet unidentified threats. Ingrian Networks' platforms allow companies to leverage their secure critical B2B and B2C transactions in new ways. The end customer benefit is a high level of security without an extensive outlay of capital.

About Ingrian Networks

Ingrian Networks is a leading provider of Active Application Security solutions that help companies protect their information assets and ensure safe information exchange within the enterprise and across the Internet. The company has created a combination of integrated hardware and software products that secure optimize and manage data in transit and in storage. Ingrian solutions are deployed in large enterprises, financial institutions, government agencies, and healthcare companies around the world. Managed by senior executives from Nortel Networks (NYSE:NT), CacheFlow (NYSE:CFLO), and Stanford University, Ingrian Networks was founded in January 2000 and is backed by $26M in private and venture capital funding. Major investors include American Express (NYSE:AXP), JAFCO Ventures, Prism Venture Partners, and Partech International. The company is headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., with regional offices throughout the U.S. and Europe.

About Telewest Broadband

Telewest Broadband, the broadband communications and media group, currently provides multi-channel television, telephone and internet services to more than 1.7 million UK households, and voice and data telecommunications services to over 69,000 business customers. Its content division, Flextech, is the biggest provider of basic channels to the UK pay-TV market and is the BBC's partner in UKTV, which has a portfolio of pay-TV channels based on the corporation's programming, including UK Gold.