Captus Networks Offers Immediate Denial of Service 'DoS' Prevention Tips in Face of New Code Red Outbreak.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

WOODLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 21, 2001

Salutes New McAfee Patch, but Concerned New DoS Initiative Won't Stop

Problem Today; Fears Businesses Will Be Lulled into Thinking New

Solution is at Hand

WHAT:   For companies suffering from the Code Red worm's latest round
        of attacks begun this week -- or concerned that they might --
        Captus Networks, an integrated security provider, offers
        advice that can be employed today to mitigate against
        increasingly more difficult and more complex denial of service
        (DoS) attacks. The Microsoft and McAfee patches can stop the
        latest version of the Code Red worm from getting into a
        company's systems, but they won't be effective as the worm
        takes new forms, and they can't stop infected systems from
        becoming the source of DoS attacks. It is estimated that
        hundreds of thousands of Microsoft IIS servers have not been
        patched or still have backdoors open that allow them to be
        enlisted in a DoS attack. Captus offers the only means on the
        market today by which attacks can be automatically and
        dynamically halted in less than one second, whether they
        originate from outside or inside a network.

          As a result, Captus lauds McAfee, a division of Network
        Associates (Nasdaq:NETA), for its reaction to the Code Red
        worm and advises businesses to immediately update their virus
        protection software with the new patch. But, Captus president
        and CEO, Richard Helgeson, is concerned that McAfee's new DoS
        initiative with Arbor Networks, Asta Networks and Mazu
        Networks might give businesses a false sense of security.
        Helgeson believes the McAfee worm patch plus the Captus inline
        technology provides the only complete solution to detect and
        stop the Code Red worm effectively.

          The biggest single problem with offline notification
        technology is that it only acts forensically, alerting systems
        administrators that there is a problem, notes Helgeson. While
        humans then try to figure out manual solutions to stop a DoS
        attack, minutes or hours will have passed, allowing
        significant and often irreversible damage to occur.

          According to Helgeson, "the truth is, you don't get a few
        hours to mitigate a DoS attack. According to a recent study by
        the University of California, San Diego, more than 80 percent
        of attacks last under 30 minutes. By then, damage from the
        attack has already been done, resulting in a potential loss of
        customers, future sales and millions of dollars to businesses
        worldwide."

WHO:    Richard G. Helgeson, president and CEO, Captus Networks, and a
        security expert and 27-year system and network industry
        veteran, can further comment on:

          --  Why the new McAfee initiative, and the majority of DoS
            attack solutions today, are steps in the right direction
            but don't solve today's security threats.

          --  How businesses can protect themselves from DoS attacks,
            Code Red and other such threats, like:

              --  Ensure IT staff has adequate security training -
                amazingly, thousands of systems are still not
                protected from Code Red and other such attacks
                resulting from poor training.

              --  Ensure all servers are updated with recommended
                systems and security patches. CERT can trace almost
                every common DoS attack to improperly maintained
                systems -- even with the heightened awareness of Code
                Red, and it's more disturbing sister, Code Red II.