Preferred Credit Partners with Stonesoft for Secure, Always-on Access to Critical Customer Information

Business Wire, June 7, 2005

HELSINKI, Finland & ATLANTA -- Specialized Finance Company Implements the Flexible StoneGate(TM) Platform to Ensure a Reliable and Secure Network

Stonesoft Corp. (HEX: SFT1V), an innovative provider of integrated network security and business continuity solutions, today announced that Preferred Credit, a leading specialized provider of financing to the direct sales industry, has implemented Stonesoft's StoneGate solution to deliver 24x7x365 managed firewall security and always-on access to client information. StoneGate delivers flexible, scalable solutions that are manageable from one central interface.

Preferred Credit and its remote office depend on an always-available Internet and network connection to conduct day-to-day business. A disruption in service results in the inability to verify critical client information such as credit history and identity, which is essential to the processing of loan applications. Preferred Credit's previous solution could not offer the necessary level of security and high availability they required. The company turned to Stonesoft for a single, integrated solution that would provide load balancing, unified administration and high availability with the ability to scale as company needs expand.

"StoneGate was the only solution we found that was able to meet all of our essential requirements in a single hardware device," said Steve Halvorson, network administrator for Preferred Credit. "Stonesoft's list of current customers really impressed us and confirmed that their solution was proven and trustworthy."

"Preferred Credit is a finance company that specializes in lending for high-quality consumer products, they are in an industry where network security and high availability is essential," said Juha Harkonen, chief executive officer for Stonesoft Americas. "Stonesoft was able to provide Preferred Credit with a single solution to handle all of their unique business needs, at a third of the cost of the competitors."

Stonesoft's StoneGate solution was implemented in two stages over a single month. The secure Preferred Credit network currently services two office locations and over 125 users, with the ability to scale as the company grows.

About Stonesoft Corporation

Stonesoft Corporation (HEX: SFT1V) is a worldwide company focused on enterprise-level network protection and business continuity assurance. Its StoneGate(TM) clustered firewall and VPN delivers defense agility combined with high availability for business-critical applications. StoneGate incorporates the award-winning load-balancing technology of StoneBeat(R).

Enterprises that require advanced network security and always-on business connectivity can choose StoneGate for the lowest up-front costs, best price-to-performance ratio, and lowest TCO of any high-end firewall and VPN solution.

Founded in 1990, Stonesoft Corporation has international headquarters in Helsinki, Finland; Americas headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia; and Asia Pacific regional headquarters in Singapore. For more information, go to www.stonesoft.com.

About Preferred Credit

Preferred Credit, Inc. was founded in 1982 to provide financing to one of the largest direct sales distributorships in the world. Since that time, Preferred Credit has been dedicated to serving the special needs of the direct sales industry. For additional information about Preferred Credit, please visit our website at www.preferredcredit.com.