Watchfire and AppScan Selected as Finalist for Five SC Magazine Awards, Including Best Security Company

Business Wire, Nov 21, 2006

Editors, Industry Experts and End-Users Select Watchfire as a Finalist for Five of 28 Total Categories in the 2007 SC Awards; Only Application Vulnerability Vendor to Achieve Finalist Status in Best Audit/Vulnerability Assessment Solution Category

WALTHAM, Mass. -- Following the successful launch of AppScan[R] 7.0, Watchfire[R] is pleased to announce that both Watchfire and its market leading web application security solution AppScan[R] have secured five finalist nominations for the prestigious SC Magazine Awards 2007. Editors, industry experts and end-users selected Watchfire from among 350 companies nominated for 28 total categories. Watchfire will join the finalists to be recognized during the U.S. awards ceremony at the RSA Conference (at the Hilton, San Francisco) on February 6, 2007.

Watchfire was selected as a finalist in five categories:

* Best Security Company

* Best Audit/Vulnerability Assessment Solution

* Best SME Security Solution

* Best Regulatory Compliance Solution

* Best Managed Security Services

Watchfire was selected as a finalist for the Best Security Company based upon the strength of the AppScan product line, customer base, customer service/support, research and development, company growth and solvency, innovation and more. The Best SME Security Solution award evaluates AppScan as a leading solution during the last year, having helped to strengthen the IT security industry's continued evolution. The Best Regulatory Compliance Solution award assesses AppScan's ability to help organizations comply with specific regulatory requirements, particularly in the healthcare, financial services and government markets. These three categories within the "Excellence Awards" are judged by a panel of 17 chief information security officers at major corporations. The remaining two categories AppScan was selected for are "Reader's Trust" awards, and include the opinions of end-users and security professionals who read SC Magazine and voted for Watchfire's AppScan as the Best Managed Security Services and Best Audit/Vulnerability Assessment Solution. Watchfire is the only web application security vendor to be short listed as a finalist for these five categories and is also the only application security company in the audit/vulnerability solution category.

Well publicized online security breaches and heightened concerns over more rigid regulatory compliance requirements have demonstrated the ongoing need for web vulnerability scanning. The selection of AppScan across multiple categories showcases the diverse impact AppScan is having upon multiple aspects of enterprise security. AppScan automates web application security audits to help ensure the security and compliance of websites. It offers a solution for various types of web application security testing (outsourced, individual scans and enterprise-wide analysis) and for many types of users (application developers, quality assurance teams, penetration testers, security auditors and senior management).

"Watchfire is a leading player in a vibrant and vital market," said SC Magazine Editor-in-Chief Illena Armstrong. "And it seems both our readers who voted and the judges from our panel have taken this time to call out Watchfire's growth, product development and resulting strong presence in the industry over this last year."

AppScan is not only the industry's first web application security testing suite, but remains the market-share leader with nearly one-third of the global market, more than twice any competitor. AppScan is the only solution to provide comprehensive remediation tasks at every level of the applicationait scans web applications within an organization's infrastructure, tests for security issues and provides actionable reports and recommendations.

"We're honored to be recognized by SC Magazine as a finalist for five independent awards. It's particularly gratifying to know that such a strong committee of editorial staff, industry luminaries and end-users have appreciated all the improvements we've made to AppScan to the point where they feel Watchfire is worthy of consideration for the Best Security Company of 2006," said Peter McKay, president and CEO, Watchfire. "We've listened to our customers as the primary driver behind our research and development, drawing from real-world challenges and best practices faced by nearly one-third of the global market to constantly improve AppScan to not only identify web application vulnerabilities, but make it easier to understand, remediate and report upon the process of securing applications throughout the software development lifecycle."

AppScan Innovation Continues: AppScan 7.0 and Reporting Console

Watchfire recently announced a new version of AppScan that is generally available now. AppScan 7.0 features even more advanced application vulnerability scanning and automation of more testing processes, for penetration testers and security professionals. It also helps businesses understand and act upon the web security vulnerabilities foundasimplifying the remediation process for developers, even those with little or no security expertise.