Guidance Software, Bit9 Form Collaboration

Business Wire, Feb 5, 2007

Deal Integrates Leading Enterprise Investigative Infrastructure with the World's Largest File Identification Database for Information Assurance and Trust-Based Computing

PASADENA, Calif. -- Guidance Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:GUID), the world leader in digital investigations, and Bit9, Inc., the leading provider of application control solutions, today announced a collaboration combining the leading enterprise investigative infrastructure with Bit9's renowned file identification database. The deal integrates Guidance Software's EnCase information assurance and trust-based computing solutions with the world's largest file hash database from Bit9. This database is a collection of hash values (or "digital fingerprints") calculated for executable files to act as digital identifiers. Using EnCase Enterprise with Bit9 solves the challenge of identifying both known and even unknown executable files. Currently, the Bit9 database contains more than 155 million unique hashes, with 1.2 million new hashes added daily.

"We at Guidance Software are pleased to announce this collaboration that will help corporations and government organizations keep tabs on and respond to threats to their networks," said John Colbert, CEO of Guidance Software. "The combination of EnCase software and Bit9 will dramatically reduce the amount of time investigators spend on operations ranging from incident response and InfoCon baselining to computer enterprise investigations."

EnCase([R]) software and Bit9 work together by leveraging the latest in trust-based computing techniques to identify both known and unknown executables. Additionally, users of EnCase Enterprise are able to create a customized library by hashing their own internal executables or the entire contents of gold disks and adding them to the existing database of cataloged files.

"Bit9 is proud to join forces with Guidance Software in licensing Bit9's knowledge base," said Doug Cahill, Vice President of Business Development from Bit9. "EnCase Enterprise, powered by Bit9, solves the increasingly complex problems of keeping file hash libraries and machine profiles up to date, and allowing users to recognize unknown executables, so they can zero in on relevant threats."

For more information about EnCase([R]) Enterprise and the Bit9 collaboration, please visit www.guidancesoftware.com.

About Guidance Software (GUID)

Guidance Software is recognized worldwide as the industry leader in digital investigative solutions. Its EnCase[R] platform provides the foundation for government, corporate and law enforcement organizations to conduct thorough and effective computer investigations of any kind, such as intellectual property theft, incident response, compliance auditing and responding to eDiscovery requests--all while maintaining the forensic integrity of the data. There are more than 20,000 licensed users of the technology, and thousands of investigators and corporate security personnel attend Guidance Software's forensic methodology training annually. Validated by numerous courts worldwide, EnCase is also frequently honored with top security awards and recognition from eWEEK, SC Magazine and Network Computing, as well as the Socha-Gelbman survey.

About Bit9, Inc.

Bit9, Inc., the leading provider of desktop lockdown solutions, centrally controls which applications can and cannot run. Bit9's award-winning, patent-pending technology delivers the easiest and most effective way to achieve application control, enabling IT professionals to realize the highest levels of desktop security and compliance. Founded in 2002 by the founders of Okena (acquired by Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO)) and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Bit9 is a privately held company. For more information, http://www.bit9.com.