Bank of the Sierra Expands Commitment to Farm9 Security Compliance Solution After Comparing to an In-House Approach.

EMERYVILLE, Calif. -- Farm9's Cost Efficiency, Customized Alerts and Reports, and Personal Service Among the Advantages of Retaining the Managed Service at Bank of the Sierra

Farm9, the leading network security compliance company for western U.S. banks, today announced that the $1 billion Bank of the Sierra, headquartered in Porterville, Ca., has evaluated the Farm9 managed information security solution versus providing the same services through an in-house approach, and has expanded their use of Farm9 solutions. Bank of the Sierra cites regulatory compliance, strong personal service, and customized reports among the aspects that an in-house approach could not replace cost-effectively.

Bank of the Sierra was recently ranked by The Findley Reports as the top bank in California and "exceptional" in the $500 million to $1 billion asset category. Founded in 1977, Bank of the Sierra has experienced enormous customer-driven growth, and has made strategic investments in building a strong security perimeter. Since 2003, Farm9 has played a vital role in providing information security solutions to help ensure regulatory compliance and customer privacy, keeping pace with the growing bank. When Rick Davis joined the Bank of the Sierra as V.P., Director of IT, in 2004, he considered bringing some services in house, and re-committed to Farm9 based on a highly favorable analysis.

"I take very seriously the responsibility for IT to provide competitive accelerators to community banking, and when I joined Bank of the Sierra, I made a close examination of existing systems and services. We just couldn't replace Farm9 -- an in-house solution couldn't match up in terms of cost, staffing resources, or reporting capabilities," said Davis. "For intrusion detection services (IDS) alone, an in-house approach would have cost us about $100,000, and that does not even include the 24x7 support and reporting that Farm9 provides. We're not standing still, and neither is Farm9 -- they are currently doing a security assessment of our SBC connections, and we've upgraded our managed services to include the new Cisco routers in monitored hosts."

Regulatory compliance, personal service, and keeping pace with the growth at Bank of the Sierra are among the valuable benefits that Farm9 provides, according to Davis. "Farm9 has continued to sharpen their services and hone delivery as our requirements have grown, and we have a great partnership with their executive team. As a regional bank, we know first-hand the value of personal service, and we recognize that Farm9 shares those values," said Davis. "Farm9 is always watching over us. That's nice to know, and it's also good to point to Farm9 for regulators -- to show that we have a neutral party guarding the 'front door,' and that we are complying with GLBA (Gramm Leach Bliley Act) and Sox404 (Sarbanes Oxley)," added Davis.

Said Guy Morgan, CEO of Farm9, "Farm9 and Bank of the Sierra share a commitment to community banking and a business model based on personal service. We're pleased to provide the security and compliance services that Bank of the Sierra needs today, and as their growth continues, we will be there to help with an expanding portfolio of services."

About Bank of the Sierra

With $1 billion in assets and strong performance ratios, Bank of the Sierra operates as the largest independent community bank headquartered in California's Heartland. The bank serves 13 different communities with 18 branches and two Ag Centers. For more information visit the web site at www.bankofthesierra.com or call 888-454-BANK.

About Farm9

Farm9 is a managed information security solutions company providing regulatory-compliant solutions to the banking industry. Farm9's services include network security monitoring and analysis (managed security services) and information security assessments to ensure compliance with federal and state information security guidelines and regulations. Unlike other information security companies, Farm9 is laser-focused on the regulations governing financial institutions, and community banks in particular; providing compliance with FFIEC, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), Sarbanes-Oxley Act, NCUA and the California Breach Disclosure law as well as information security requirements of HIPAA, OMB, FERC, and FERPA. Farm9's clients include The Mechanics Bank, American Marine Bank, Tamalpais Bank, Delta National Bank and more than 5 percent of mid-size banks in the western U.S. Farm9 team members are known for their security expertise and are the creators of CryptCat, one of the most widely-used open source anti-hacker tools.