Gartner Names Teros ''Visionary'' in Application Firewall Space; Report Distinguishes Web Application Firewalls from Network Firewalls

Business Wire, Feb 25, 2005

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Teros, the global leader in Web application security firewalls, today announced that Gartner Group, the leading provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry, included the company in the "Visionary" category, along with six other vendors, in a report called "Magic Quadrant for Network Firewalls, 2H04." Additionally, Gartner Group has firmly recognized the unique protection capabilities delivered by Web application firewalls by stating that they "are now clearly a distinct product set and are not enterprise network firewalls."

"Teros is thrilled to have been named a 'Visionary' among so many strong vendors in this competitive market," said Bob Walters, President and CEO of Teros. "The inclusion in this Gartner report confirms our position as an established player in the rapidly growing application firewall space. We are also pleased that Gartner highlighted the unique value delivered by web application firewalls, and recognizes their importance in the enterprise security infrastructure."

The report, written by Greg Young, Research Director for Gartner, looked at leading providers of security infrastructure products and services, and performed a competitive analysis of their strategies, key offerings and business practices. In this look at network security devices for the first half of 2004 Gartner used the following criteria for placement in the "Visionary" category:

--Wide ability to recognize and block attacks

--Recognize needs of the enterprise and build them into their product.

--Investment in specialized network processing hardware (ASICs) or off the shelf content and security processors to do stateful and deep packet inspection at wire speeds.

--Central management of many remote devices, including bi-directional communications.

--Ability to load balance or configure in a Highly Available mode.

--Logging and reporting.

--Fast paced roll out of new application defenses.

Teros' application security is based on a positive security model that ensures correct application behavior. The model is based on HTTP industry standards and best coding practices for HTML and Java. Application behavior deviating from the positive security model is treated as potentially malicious and is blocked by the Teros Gateway product line.

Because it understands good application behavior, the positive security model does not require attack signatures or pattern matching techniques to detect and block attacks. It is the only proven approach delivering "zero day" protection against unpublished exploits.

About Teros

Teros is the global leader in application security. The company's mission is to guarantee the availability, integrity, and performance of Web and Web Services-enabled applications by defeating all known and unknown application attacks and accelerating application performance. Global 1000 corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises, and government agencies rely on Teros to secure critical applications, as well as protect sensitive corporate and customer information. Teros is listed as a "visionary" company in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for enterprise firewalls and is named a "winner" in the rapidly growing application security gateway market by Yankee Group. Teros is privately held with headquarters in Santa Clara, California. To contact Teros call 408-850-0800, visit us on the web at www.teros.com, or write to info@teros.com.

About Gartner Group

Gartner, Inc. is the leading provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry. Gartner serves more than 10,000 clients, including chief information officers and other senior IT executives in corporations and government agencies, as well as technology companies and the investment community. The Company focuses on delivering objective, in-depth analysis and actionable advice to enable clients to make more informed business and technology decisions. The Company's businesses consist of Gartner Intelligence, research and events for IT professionals; Gartner Executive Programs, membership programs and peer networking services; and Gartner Consulting, customized engagements with a specific emphasis on outsourcing and IT management. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, and has 3,700 associates, including more than 1,000 research analysts and consultants, in more than 75 locations worldwide. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.