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Websense, Inc. Joins Network Admission Control (NAC) Program

Posted on: Tuesday, 6 September 2005, 09:00 CDT

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Websense, Inc. , the world's leading provider of employee internet management solutions, today announced that it has joined the Network Admission Control (NAC) program. NAC is a Cisco Systems sponsored industry initiative that is designed to use the network infrastructure to enforce security policy compliance on devices seeking to access network computing resources, thereby limiting damage from viruses and worms.

Websense(R) Client Policy Manager(TM) (CPM) desktop security software is expected to integrate with the Cisco Trust Agent and the NAC architecture in October 2005. The Cisco Trust Agent is a core component of the NAC solution and will enable it to determine if Websense CPM is installed, current and operational. In addition, the Cisco Trust Agent will gain further visibility of operating system and application versions and patch levels that can only be obtained through Websense's application database.

With NAC, organizations can provide network access to endpoint devices such as PCs, PDAs, and servers that are verified to be fully compliant with established security policies. CPM on employee desktops will provide additional policy compliance by alerting a NAC-enabled network of noncompliant devices, applications, and application usage. Once an alert is sent, the NAC framework will deny the software or device network access, place them in a quarantined environment, or give them restricted access to computing resources.

Websense's CPM is an innovative end-point security software that extends the power of Websense's Master Database to an organization's desktops, laptops, and servers. CPM identifies and blocks known and unknown threats transparently without user intervention, by stopping the execution of unauthorized applications, such as spyware, keylogging, peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, and hacking tools. In addition, CPM provides the ability to lockdown the use of removable media devices such as memory sticks, CD/DVD drives, and compact flash memory cards. Left unmanaged, removable media devices can serve as a means to remove confidential company information and provide an inadvertent way to introduce malcode into an organization's network environment.

"Adding Websense's CPM desktop security software to the NAC program enables customers to protect their machines and network from today's evolving internet threats," said Russell Rice, director of product marketing in the Security Technology Group at Cisco Systems. "The NAC program was developed to provide extensive network protection to Cisco customers. This integration with Websense adds a powerful solution that will allow our customers to essentially lockdown their machines to prevent any form of malicious code from launching."

Working alongside firewalls and antivirus tools, CPM's advanced lockdown features close the window of exposure to unknown security threats that often bring down networks before virus signatures or appropriate patches can be deployed, or where security systems are mis-configured. CPM delivers effective, proactive threat mitigation and flexible application use security policy enforcement.

"Maintaining endpoint policy compliance in our environment is a high priority for VHA," said Bob Benton, Director, Network Services, Telecom, and Security for VHA Inc. "CPM's unique approach to desktop policy enforcement combined with the NAC quarantining and remediation framework will help provide VHA with proactive end-point compliance that effectively leverages our existing network security infrastructure."

"Joining the NAC program is an important step for Websense to further expand our presence and capabilities in the desktop security landscape." said Steve Kelley, director of strategic alliances at Websense, Inc. "CPM's unique combination of centralized management and policy enforcement offers customers an end-point security solution that proactively protects employee desktops and enterprise networks from emerging web-based threats."

NAC is part of the Cisco Self-Defending Network, a strategy to increase network intelligence that helps enable the network to automatically identify, prevent, and adapt to security threats. More information about the Cisco NAC program can be found at http://www.cisco.com/go/nac.

For a free 30-day evaluation of Websense software or for more information on protecting your organization from a wide range of threats including phishing, spyware, virus outbreaks and internal hacking exploits, please visit http://www.websense.com/. In addition, Websense Security Labs(TM) offers free email security updates as new internet threats are discovered and is available at http://www.websensesecuritylabs.com/.

About Websense, Inc.

Websense, Inc. , the world's leading provider of employee internet management solutions, enables organizations to optimize employee use of computing resources and mitigate new threats related to internet use including instant messaging, peer-to-peer, and spyware. By providing usage policy enforcement at the internet gateway, on the network and at the desktop, Websense products enhance productivity and security, optimize the use of IT resources and mitigate legal liability for our customers. For more information, visit http://www.websense.com/.

(C) 2005, Websense, Inc. All rights reserved. Websense and Websense Enterprise are registered trademarks of Websense, Inc. in the United States and certain international markets. Websense has numerous other unregistered trademarks in the United States and internationally. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which, if they do not materialize or prove correct, could cause Websense's results to differ materially from historical results or those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including statements containing the words "planned,""expects,""believes,""strategy,""opportunity,""anticipates" and similar words. These statements may include, among others, plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements regarding proposed new products, services or developments; any statements regarding future economic conditions or financial or operating performance, including estimates of billings and revenue; statements of belief and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. The potential risks and uncertainties which contribute to the uncertain nature of these statements include, among others, customer acceptance of the company's services, products and fee structures; the success of Websense's brand development efforts; the volatile and competitive nature of the Internet industry; changes in domestic and international market conditions and the entry into and development of international markets for the company's products; risks relating to intellectual property ownership; changes in estimated amounts based on the review and audit of Websense's financial statements by its independent auditors; and the other risks and uncertainties described in Websense's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available at (). Websense assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances arising after the date on which it was made.

MEDIA CONTACT: Ronnie Manning Websense, Inc. 858 320 9274 rmanning@websense.com

Websense, Inc.

CONTACT: Ronnie Manning of Websense, Inc., +1-858-320-9274,rmanning@websense.com

Web site: http://www.websense.com/http://www.cisco.com/go/nachttp://www.websensesecuritylabs.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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