Akonix Enforces Corporate Instant Messaging and P2P Security.

SAN DIEGO -- Enforcer v4.0 Offers the Most Comprehensive, Enterprise-Class Monitoring and Blocking for the Growing Security Threat of IM and P2P Networks

Akonix Systems, Inc., the premier provider of solutions for security and control of instant messaging (IM) and peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, launches Akonix Enforcer v4.0, providing enterprises with critical perimeter security for blocking unmanaged access to IM and P2P networks. Akonix Enforcer adds protection against security risks and liability from the unauthorized use of the latest IM and P2P protocols, such as eDonkey and BitTorrent, and capabilities required by the largest enterprises for deployment on complex networks.

Akonix Enforcer v4.0 provides advanced IM and P2P perimeter security, specifically designed to be deployed as part of a defense-in-depth approach to protecting enterprise networks. It complements port-based security such as firewalls and integrates with Akonix's award-winning IM management solution, Akonix L7 Enterprise, for enabling authorized use of IM.

"Many companies claim to have the 'only' or 'first' security solution for some platform or another, but Akonix has truly led the way in offering comprehensive protection against the security threats posed by public IM network use and P2P file sharing," said Pete Lindstrom, research director at Spire Security. "With its consideration of all aspects of security -- including identity, vulnerability, trust and threat management -- Akonix has defined complete security at the application level for IM and P2P."

Key features and benefits provided by Akonix Enforcer v4.0 include:

--Support for identifying and blocking the latest P2P protocols and networks, such as BitTorrent and eDonkey, in addition to existing support for Gnutella, FastTrack, Open Napser and WinMX. Recent research shows eDonkey eclipsed FastTrack as the most popular file sharing network for pirated movies, music and software.

--Ability to identify and block Internet Relay Chat (IRC), in addition to existing support for AOL's AIM(R), ICQ(R), MSN(R) and Yahoo!(R) IM, including both client and Web-based access. In addition to unmanaged communications, IRC has been used extensively as a back-door by Trojan horse and worm attacks to establish communications with external servers.

--Enhanced support for large, complex networks with the ability to analyze and enforce Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) encapsulated traffic and support for accepting traffic from different network segments on up to 10 Network Interface Cards (NICs) per server.

--New reporting capabilities that provide statistics on blocking actions or passive monitoring by users' network identity, in addition to IP addresses.

--Second generation of Akonix's patent-pending multi-stage signature analysis engine for support of high-traffic environments across thousands of users in enterprise-class deployments.

--Enhancements identified in more than six months of testing and deployment by leading customers, including three of the top five media conglomerates and one of the largest Federal and Commercial systems integrators.

Employees swapping files and messages via P2P and public IM networks drain corporate bandwidth, create legal liability, introduce new security risks through virus infections or hacker attacks and risk leakage of corporate intellectual property. The SANS Institute's 2004 Top Twenty threat list (www.sans.org/top20) identified P2P as the #7 threat to Windows systems, up from #9 in 2003, and IM as #10, marking its debut on this leading threat list. SANS identifies a wide range of recent vulnerabilities, specific targeted attacks and evasion of most existing defenses as being the drivers behind these rapidly growing technologies' increased threat levels.

"Based on the direct feedback from working in partnership with our global Fortune 500 customers, we have extended Akonix Enforcer with higher performance and flexible, prioritized policy handling," said Dmitry Shapiro, chief technology officer at Akonix. "Now equipped with these features, along with advanced IM and P2P protocol support, Akonix Enforcer is an unmatched solution for blocking the growing threats to enterprise networks."

Akonix Enforcer delivers an integral component to Akonix's complete IM management, security and integration solution. With its ability to block unsanctioned use of IM and P2P networks, Akonix Enforcer complements Akonix L7 Enterprise, the company's advanced IM management solution. L7 Enterprise is deployed by the majority of Enforcer customers to allow authorized users to access IM networks in a controlled fashion while protecting against IM security vulnerabilities and other risks. Jointly, these solutions bring security, management, reporting and regulatory compliance to unsupervised and uncontrolled IM across all public networks and enterprise IM systems.

To learn more about Akonix Enforcer v4.0 or to request free trials of any Akonix product, please visit www.akonix.com. Akonix will be demonstrating the solution at CSI 2004 in Washington, DC, November 8-10, 2004 at Booth #1205. Akonix Enforcer v4.0 is currently in beta and will be available within the next 30 days.

About Akonix

Akonix is the leading provider of enterprise-class business solutions for leveraging the power of multi-network enterprise instant messaging. Akonix's award-winning products leverage patent-pending core technology, an advanced IM application development platform, and certified strategic partnerships to deliver multi-network management, security, integration and compliance capabilities across all major IM systems, including America Online(R) AIM and ICQ, Microsoft MSN, Yahoo! Messenger, Microsoft(R) Live Communications Server, Reuters Messaging, IBM/Lotus SameTime and Jabber.

More than 400 customers in Financial Services, Telecommunications, Energy, Technology, Healthcare and Entertainment depend on Akonix to manage, secure and enable IM for over 500,000 enterprise users. Akonix is the preferred IM management solution of some of the world's largest companies, including Cingular Wireless, Qualcomm, EMC and ING.

Akonix is widely recognized as the technology and market innovator with awards for its L7 Enterprise IM gateway from Windows & .NET Magazine, Network World, eWeek, SC Magazine, PC Magazine and UCSD Connect. Akonix is backed by leading venture capital firms Menlo Ventures, Mission Ventures, Palomar Ventures and Windward Ventures, who collectively manage over $3.5 billion in capital.