BellSouth and Internet Security Systems Team Up to Offer Total Managed Security Solution.

News/Assignment Editors

ComNet 2000

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 25, 2000

World-class ISP and global security leader join forces for

industry's most complete suite of security services 

          Editors' note: The following BellSouth Corporation press
          release is one of three releases being issued today on
          Business Wire. Please be sure to review all three
          announcements to get the full story of BellSouth's new
          corporate emphasis on delivering a &uot;best-of-breed,&uot; turnkey
          e-business infrastructure to business customers. (Today's
          releases include: BellSouth Forms Network Consulting
          Alliance, Acquires Equity Stake in Predictive Systems, Inc.;
          BellSouth and Internet Security Systems Team Up to Offer
          Total Managed Security Solution; and BellSouth Guarantees
          Businesses Unparalleled Dedicated Internet Service.)

BellSouth (NYSE: BLS) and Internet Security Systems (ISS) (NASDAQ: ISSX) today announced a strategic alliance to provide a comprehensive suite of managed security solutions critical to the protection of today's e-businesses. By partnering with a best-of-breed security management solutions provider, BellSouth brings its customers a total solution with market-leading software, comprehensive monitoring services and industry-leading security research.

BellSouth, which broadly utilizes ISS for internal network security, has named ISS its &uot;preferred&uot; managed security provider for domestic and international markets. BellSouth and ISS will co-develop a set of Managed Security Services (MSS) to meet the needs of BellSouth customers. These services will be available first quarter through the BellSouth sales force. The alliance will provide BellSouth the opportunity to be a major participant in the exploding security market, which according to International Data Corporation, is expected to grow to $2.24 billion by 2003.

&uot;Companies are realizing that effective enterprise security requires dedicated security resources providing round-the-clock protection,&uot; said Donna Lee, president of marketing for BellSouth. &uot;Because demand for this talent outweighs supply, businesses need trusted partners to provide comprehensive solutions. Companies today depend on BellSouth for reliable, high-performing Internet access and infrastructure. Now they can rely on us to provide a complete managed security service - one that improves network security, reduces overall costs, and allows companies to remain focused on their core business.&uot;

&uot;ISS has always been impressed with BellSouth's Business Internet Services track record for performance, commitment and overall customer satisfaction,&uot; noted Tom Noonan, president and Chief Executive Officer of ISS, &uot;As proven leaders in our respective industries, BellSouth and ISS will offer businesses an unbeatable combination for trust and reliability, enabling customers to leverage the Internet to conduct safe and productive e-business.&uot;

Many of today's e-businesses are at risk. According to a recent Ernst &Young survey(a), more than half of U.S. businesses do NOT monitor their on-line activities and an even greater number have no planned incident response. Additionally, with more than 60 percent of CIOs reporting IT staffing on their list of top three day-to-day issues, competition for security experts is tough; and costs associated with developing in-house, round-the-clock security capabilities are prohibitive (Forrester, Nov. 29, 1999).

As security becomes more complex and IT networks open to outside partners, complete network security requires more than just implementation of a firewall at the network perimeter. It requires the integration of people, process and technology. The BellSouth MSS solution will provide a comprehensive suite of services that includes a number of scaleable options for businesses:

--   Managed firewall - includes configuration, installation and
     ongoing 24x7 monitoring and maintenance to ensure security of a
     company's Internet gateway
--   Intrusion detection and response - includes real-time monitoring
     of network traffic for security violations or network misuse
--   Anti-virus/anti-vandal filtering - removes Internet-based viruses
     embedded in email, files and web pages
--   Web site blocking - helps enforce a company's Internet usage
     policy
--   Security management system -- provides online access to real-time
     logs and reports, as well as online interface to securely submit
     and track service requests

With BellSouth MSS, highly trained security personnel will work closely with the customer to define security responses and escalation procedures. Once the policies are in place, ISS' industry-leading SAFEsuite software sets up a series of built-in alarms, automatically alerting security engineers to any suspicious activity, and prompting quick response and escalation of active attacks. A company's electronic assets are monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and managed from a state-of-the-art network operations center. All of

these services are linked together through a single customer interface for online reports and security administration. Robust Service Level Agreements (SLAs) guarantee operational excellence. While it is not required that Managed Security Services be purchased with BellSouth Business Internet Services, the two together provide a powerful and comprehensive networking solution.

BellSouth Business Internet Services delivers the world-class security, reliability and customer service companies expect from one of the nation's top-rated Internet service providers. In an independent survey conducted by Survey.com for Inter@ctive Week, BellSouth Business Internet Services were recently recognized as having the highest level of satisfied customers over all other major Internet providers. In addition, BellSouth has demonstrated a consistent track record of performance, earning multiple A+ ratings from April through December 1999 by Inverse Network Technology, a leading independent firm that measures the performance and reliability of large ISPs nationwide. These distinctions, along with Cisco Powered Network certification, redundant Internet backbone links, 24x7 proactive monitoring and management, low user-to-modem ratios and dedicated connections, place BellSouth's Internet infrastructure second to none.

For more information on this and other business offers from BellSouth, companies should contact their account representative or visit BellSouth's Internet Services Web site at www.biz.bellsouth.net. For more information on Managed Security Services, call 877-954-7827 or send an e-mail to: [e-mail].

About ISS

ISS is a leading global provider of security management solutions for e-business. By offering best-of-breed SAFEsuite security software, and industry-leading ePatrol managed security, consulting and education services, ISS is a trusted security provider to its customers, protecting digital assets and ensuring the availability, confidentiality and integrity of computer systems and information critical to e-business success. ISS' lifecycle security management solutions' protect more than five thousand customers including 21 of the 25 largest US commercial banks, 9 of the 10 largest telecommunications companies and over 35 government agencies. Founded in 1994, ISS is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with additional offices throughout North America and international operations in Asia, Australia, Europe and Latin America. For more information, visit the ISS web site at www.iss.net or call 800-776-2362.

About BellSouth

BellSouth is a $25 billion communications services company. It provides telecommunications, wireless communications, cable and digital TV, advertising and publishing, and Internet and data services to nearly 36 million customers in 20 countries worldwide. BellSouth's Web site is located at http://www.bellsouth.com.

(a) Fifth annual Information Security Survey, 1999; Global results

from 4,322 respondents in 29 countries.