AXENT Announces PassGo 5.0 for Secure Single Sign-On Access and Authentication.

Business/Technology Editors

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 5, 2000

Single Sign-on Boosts Secure Employee Access Across the Enterprise,

Leveraging Legacy and Dispersed Systems for SSO and PKI 

AXENT Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXNT), the world's leading Internet security solutions provider for e-business, who recently entered into a definitive agreement with Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) to be acquired, today announced the PassGo(TM) 5.0 authentication and single sign-on (SSO) solution, simplifying secure log-on and authentication for users and administrators. PassGo 5.0 provides the protection that today's businesses require for secure employee access to corporate systems across the enterprise, including disparate and legacy systems. As a result, customers can leverage existing technology for SSO and enable public key infrastructure (PKI) solutions.

"As a leading pharmaceutical company with offices worldwide, we use various types of client/server and Web-based information systems. Each of these systems requires different user IDs and passwords in order for our employees to safely access our systems and conduct business over our intranet," said Juergen Krieg, project manager, Bayer. "AXENT's PassGo 5.0 has effectively provided us with a single sign-on solution for accessing our various systems through the Web and cleaning up the front end. AXENT has provided us a seamless solution for centralized access and control to our information systems."

Conducting communication with partners, customers, and suppliers via the Internet and extranets for competitive advantage has become the preferred method of communication for many organizations moving to e-business models. PassGo 5.0 provides a way to safely extend business practices onto the Internet, securing critical information with a simplified process.

"The most traditional methods of authenticating users no longer provide the necessary protection for securing confidential information. These methods often require users to remember multiple passwords and user names, which have become easy to crack or guess," said Wendy Lombardi, product manager at AXENT(R). "PassGo's centralized access control solution provides a single log-on that lets users immediately access the data they need to conduct business more effectively--while at the same time enhancing security across an organization."

Addressing the needs of growing businesses

Additional new features of PassGo 5.0 include support for Windows 2000(R), helping businesses make the migration to the new operating system more securely by locking down AXENT secured SSO to protect vital business information. PassGo 5.0 also supports lightweight directory access protocol (LDAP) for businesses that are consolidating their user information to ease the burden of administrating user resources and access rights--allowing customers to lower support costs and simplify user management. PassGo 5.0 also helps businesses leverage existing technology, providing a means to enable SSO and PKI for disparate and legacy systems that otherwise would not be Internet-, extranet- and intranet-capable.

The GartnerGroup, a leading industry analyst firm, recognized PassGo as the first single sign-on product that was PKI-enabled, a technology that provides even more security for businesses. PassGo 5.0 provides smart cards and digital certificates, eliminating the need for password and user identification information and enabling businesses to tie in back-end systems that are not PKI-ready.

Pricing and Availability

PassGo 5.0 is available immediately worldwide from AXENT and authorized PassGo partners. PassGo 5.0 is licensed by the number of clients and server platforms. For more information, please visit the AXENT home page at www.axent.com.

About AXENT(R)

AXENT Technologies, Inc., a global leader in information security, provides e-security solutions that maximize its customers' business advantage. AXENT delivers integrated products and expert services to assess, protect, enable and manage business processes and information assets, as well as to facilitate Trust Level Management(TM) within its customers' environments. Through its unique Lifecycle Security(TM) Methodology, combined with Smart Security Architecture, AXENT delivers the "right" level of trusted e-security for customers. Award-winning solutions offer assessment and policy compliance, firewall, intrusion detection, authentication and authorization technology, virtual private networking, Web access and single sign-on for enterprises and e-businesses.

Headquartered in Rockville, MD, AXENT's customer-proven information security solutions are used by 45 of the Fortune 50 and governments worldwide. Contact AXENT via e-mail at [e-mail], or visit AXENT's World Wide Web site at www.axent.com.

AXENT, AXENT Technologies, Lifecycle Security, trust level management, the AXENT logo, and PassGo are trademarks or registered trademarks, in the United States and certain other countries, of AXENT Technologies, Inc. or its subsidiaries. Windows 2000 is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation; all other product names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners. (c) 2000 AXENT Technologies, Inc.