Watchfire Introduces Online Privacy Assessment Service; Automated Website Audit Service Examines Key Areas of Online Privacy Risk Mitigation - Privacy Policy Management, PII Collection, Leak Prevention and Compliance

Business Wire, May 9, 2006

WALTHAM, Mass. -- Watchfire, the leading provider of software and services to help ensure the security and compliance of websites, today introduced a new Online Privacy Assessment service designed to provide unprecedented visibility and insight into online privacy. Watchfire's Online Privacy Assessment audit service examines key areas of privacy risk mitigation--Privacy Policy Management, PII Collection, Leak Prevention and Compliance. This new service complements Watchfire's AppScan(R) and gives CSOs, CPOs, general counsels, and compliance executives critical visibility into potential consumer data privacy and security breaches, enabling them to be proactive about managing online privacy and security.

Watchfire's proven WebXM online risk management technology--winner of the Prestigious 2005 HP/IAPP Privacy Innovation Award--powers the service. The Online Privacy Assessment is a one-time audit and leverages Watchfire's unmatched privacy expertise, easing the burden of software procurement, deployment and administration. The audit reports on critical privacy vulnerabilities as they pertain to personally identifiable data collection practices, and gives actionable, prioritized recommendations for resolution. Watchfire's Online Privacy Assessment service is ideally suited for organizations that recognize the importance of proactive versus reactive privacy management and are not ready to immediately purchase software.

Missed privacy vulnerabilities can lead to increased regulatory scrutiny, fines, lawsuits, brand damage, consumer confidence erosion, and online channel decline. Newer breach notification requirements have also made it mandatory to notify consumers of privacy and security breaches. According to recent reports there have been 75 disclosed breaches in 2006 that have already potentially affected as many as 4.9 million individuals. Organizations are facing pressure to proactively assess and correct privacy issues, with customers, regulators, partners and investors becoming increasingly vocal about violations and breaches. Watchfire's new service provides CPOs and legal executives the unique ability to address the significant gap between setting privacy policy and enforcing it.

"It's costly and time-consuming for corporations to manually audit websites that continue to grow in size and complexity, and they typically don't have the resources in-house to translate policy and legal understanding into practical implementation," said David Grant, vice president of marketing, Watchfire. "We've locked down privacy and security for many of the highest-profile and largest global websites and by packaging this expertise as a service, we uncover privacy vulnerabilities most manual efforts overlook. CPOs and legal executives won't have to worry about managing software procurement, deployment or administration, and customers of this service will also receive instant access to Watchfire's privacy and security expertise, best practices and guidance--making proactive online privacy assessment easier for any organization."

Watchfire's Online Privacy Assessment service inventories data collection pages and looks for privacy issues including missing privacy statements, opt-out mechanisms and insecure data collection forms. Armed with this information, Watchfire experts check to verify that proper privacy and security standards are deployed in accordance with best practices. The findings are compiled into a comprehensive report and scorecard, showing levels of risk, specifics on where problems are (down to individual URLs), analysis of each privacy vulnerability found, prioritization recommendations for resolution and more. Watchfire's privacy experts deliver the audit results in an actionable report format and then review the findings with the client executives, helping to put processes in place to resolve issues found, and provide guidance on how to avoid issues in the future.

Benefits of the Online Privacy Assessment service include:

--Uncover privacy vulnerabilities that most manual efforts overlook

--Verify that personally identifiable information (PII) collected online is reasonable and directly applied for its intended, stated use

--Understand if use and disclosure of PII is limited as outlined in accompanying privacy statements (and as mandated by industry regulations such as Safe Harbor, GLBA and COPPA)

--Leverage Watchfire's proven privacy expertise for best practices and remediation recommendations

--Reap the benefits of Watchfire's award-winning online risk management technology without having to buy, install or configure software

Availability

The Watchfire Online Privacy Assessment service is available immediately. In addition to the packaged service offering, custom privacy services can be added to address the unique needs of customers. For ongoing analysis, Watchfire offers OnDemand privacy and security software as service models that can also be customized to meet an organization's long-term needs.

About Watchfire

Watchfire provides Online Risk Management software and services to help ensure the security and compliance of websites. More more than 500 enterprises and government agencies, including AXA Financial, SunTrust, HSBC, Vodafone, Veterans Affairs and Dell rely on Watchfire to audit and report on issues impacting their online business. Watchfire has been the recipient of several industry honors including the HP/IAPP Privacy Innovation Award, InfoSecurity Product Guide's Hot Security Company 2006, Computerworld's Innovative Technology Award, and "Recommended" rating by Computer Reseller News. Watchfire was named by IDC as the worldwide market-share leader in web application vulnerability assessment software. Watchfire's partners include IBM Global Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers, TRUSTe, Microsoft, Interwoven, EMC Documentum and Mercury. Watchfire is headquartered in Waltham, MA. For more information, please visit www.watchfire.com.