Stonesoft Introduces First Network Security Platform to Manage Physical, Virtual...

Stonesoft Introduces First Network Security Platform to Manage Physical,
Virtual Environments and Third-party Events

StoneGate 5.0 Significantly Simplifies Network Security Management

ATLANTA, April 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Stonesoft, a provider of proven,
innovative network security solutions, today announced the general
availability of StoneGate 5.0, its proactive network security management
platform. As the first to integrate third-party event management, as well as
many other features that significantly simplify the management of complex,
dispersed networks, StoneGate5.0 marks a major advancement in network
security. Specifically developed for organizations with critical networks and
managed service security providers (MSSPs), StoneGate 5.0 solutions enable
proactive network security management while delivering the lowest total cost
of ownership (TCO) on the market today. In many cases, StoneGate solutions can
decrease an organization's TCO by as much 70 percent.

The complexity of network security management, combined with shrinking IT
budgets, is the number one threat facing network security today. According to
Gartner, Inc. "more than 99 percent of firewall breaches are caused by
misconfigurations rather than firewall flaws."* This is a challenge for
today's large organizations which frequently have as many as 15 different
security products and hundreds of devices - ranging from firewall/VPN
appliances to load balancers - within its infrastructure. Because many of
these devices do not work well together and must be managed across a
geographically dispersed network, this can substantially increase the
potential points of failure across the network. StoneGate 5.0 is a direct
response to this threat.

Stonesoft is the only vendor to provide a single centralized command center
for proactive control of even the most complex networks. This centralized
command center - called the StoneGate Management Center - manages the entire
StoneGate Platform including its firewall/VPN, IPS and SSL VPN solutions for
physical and virtual environments. With the debut of StoneGate 5.0, the
StoneGate Management Center 5.0 can now manage third-party device events.
Additionally, StoneGate 5.0 is designed to support the growing number of MSSPs
in the marketplace by offering centralized management, end-customer domains
and Web portal access. These capabilities significantly streamline MSSP
processes and while offering new value-added services for their customers.

StoneGate 5.0 offers a long list of groundbreaking features for large
organizations and MSSPs that deliver simplified, proactive network security,
reduced network management costs and more efficient auditing for regulatory
compliance. A few of the new features include:
-- Third-party Event Management: The StoneGate Management Center 5.0
provides the first platform for proactive network security management
of
entire networks, including physical and virtual environments, as well
as
third-party device events. This gives organizations access to
real-time
device monitoring, event correlation, logging and reporting of the
switches, routers and security appliances from different vendors
across
their networks. As a result, administrators can significantly
streamline
troubleshooting and incident management time.
-- End-customer Domains: StoneGate 5.0 enables management of different
customer environments with a single management server - a major
development for large organizations and MSSPs challenged by the
administration and cost of managing multiple servers for each domain.
Since configurations can be shared across domains, administrators can
quickly make configuration changes or reuse configurations.
-- Enhanced Rule-base Optimization Tools: StoneGate 5.0 simplifies
security
policy management through a unique set of rule-base optimization
tools.
With these tools administrators can easily detect unused and redundant
rules and optimize rule order to enhance network and security
performance. In addition, rules can be created directly from logs for
faster incident management.
-- Web Portal: With StoneGate 5.0, administrators and MSSPs' customers
gain Web Portal access to policies, logs and reports anytime, anywhere
and from any device. In addition, MSSPs can create customized user
interfaces for their end-customers.
-- Geographic Pinpointing of IP Addresses: StoneGate 5.0 allows
organizations to see real-time visual geographical representations of
network traffic to quickly spot anomalies and attacks. Coupled with
StoneGate's drill-down and filtering capabilities, administrators
can troubleshoot more efficiently.

-- SSL Inspection for Both Client & Server Protection: Unlike most
platforms that only offer either client- or server-side inspection,
StoneGate 5.0 is the first to offer SSL inspection for both. This
increases an organization's end-to-end network security
capabilities by protecting workstations, internal networks, hosts and
servers against attacks hidden inside the SSL tunnel. This capability
also further ensures regulatory compliance and data loss prevention.

"Today's organizations are facing a double-edged challenge - how to improve
network security with fewer resources. StoneGate 5.0 is our response. It
removes the complexities that have threatened network security as we know it
today. Just as importantly, the TCO reductions that StoneGate 5.0 delivers
will be instrumental in helping organizations succeed in this recessionary
climate," said Paul Johnson, president of Stonesoft Inc.

StoneGate 5.0's next generation capabilities have been tested by large global
organizations, including Xerox Global Services and Thales Services. In
addition, StoneGate 5.0 has been reviewed by many of the industry's leading
authorities on network security.

"IT professionals participating in Nemertes research increasingly stress the
importance of quick time-to-value for any new security or management tool,"
said John Burke, principal research analyst with Nemertes Research. "They want
things that begin working in hours or days instead of weeks or months. They
also bemoan the continuing management tool sprawl that forces them to look in
twelve places to manage eleven things. Short on staff and short on time, they
need tools that will let them look less and see more, simplify as well as
empower."

The StoneGate Management Center 5.0 and StoneGate Firewall/VPN 5.0 appliances
are currently available and the StoneGate IPS 5.0 appliances will be available
in June. StoneGate 5.0 is available with both StoneGate physical and virtual
appliances.

StoneGate 5.0 at the RSA Conference 2009

Stonesoft will be demonstrating StoneGate 5.0 at RSA Conference 2009, April
20-24 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Attendees and media can see
StoneGate 5.0 in action at Booth #2108. For more information on StoneGate 5.0,
please visit www.stonesoft.com.

About Stonesoft
Stonesoft Corporation (Nasdaq OMX: SFT1V) delivers proven, innovative
solutions that simplify network security management for even the most complex
network environments. The award-winning StoneGate Platform unifies firewall,
VPN, IPS and SSL VPN solutions, blending integrated threat management,
end-to-end high availability and network optimization into a centrally
controlled system. As a result, Stonesoft provides an unparalleled level of
proactive security, always-on connectivity and compliance at the lowest total
cost of ownership on the market today. Founded in 1990, the company is an
established leader in network security innovation with corporate headquarters
in Helsinki, Finland and Americas headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. For more
information, visit www.stonesoft.com.

*Gartner, Inc., Q&A: Is It More Secure to Use Firewalls from Two Different
Vendors, August 12, 2008 by Greg Young and John Pescatore

SOURCE Stonesoft Corporation

Laurie Douglas of Stonesoft, +1-678-578-8429, laurie.douglas@stonesoft.com; or
Hannah Bower, +1-404-371-3989, hannah@bower-communications.com