Configuresoft Unveils the Microsoft Windows Security Hardening Toolkit for Enterprise Configuration Manager to Ensure Continuous Security Compliance.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Center for Policy & Compliance Translates Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP Hardening Guides into Continuous, Enforceable Enterprise Policy

Configuresoft, an innovator in systems management technology and the creator of enterprise compliance management, today announced the availability of a Microsoft Windows Security Hardening Toolkit for Enterprise Configuration Manager (ECM). The Toolkit translates Microsoft security best practices for Windows operating systems, including Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP, into a continuous, enforceable assessment policy using ECM. The Toolkit is available at no charge to existing Configuresoft customers, and is also offered through the Rapid Security Configuration Assessment (RSCA) Partner Program.

The Microsoft Windows Security Hardening Guides, also referred to as the Microsoft Security Standards, provide detailed recommendations on the proper configuration of Microsoft Windows environments to ensure security readiness. Recently expanded to Windows XP, the standards were reviewed by the Center for Internet Security (CIS) and the United States Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for consistency with existing security best practices.

"Regulatory requirements, such as SOX, HIPAA and FISMA, have driven the necessity for organizations to continuously track and monitor security configurations. Organizations must implement a continuously thorough program of security configuration and compliance. Configuresoft's Microsoft Windows Security Hardening Toolkit helps organizations ensure continuous security assessments, remediation and verification, helping to meet regulatory requirements and ultimately building increased trust with their customers and partners," said Tony Bailey, senior product manager, security and compliance at Microsoft Corp.

The Microsoft Security Standards Toolkit for ECM expands Configuresoft's continuous compliance offerings which quickly analyze, remediate and verify security and regulatory policy compliance on servers, workstations and laptops. Configuresoft's Center for Policy & Compliance (CP&C), an in-house team of security and policy experts, created the Toolkit translations based on Federal regulations, security industry best practices and vendor guidelines. Each one implements rules that analyze the configuration and security data to ensure the actual operational state conforms to the desired state. The CP&C has also developed cross platform ECM toolkits for SOX, HIPAA, GLBA and FISMA regulations.

"Organizations often lack the time, objectivity and expertise to accurately assess the security readiness of their systems and where the vulnerabilities exist," said Chris Farrow, director of Configuresoft's CP&C. "CP&C Toolkits provide out-of-the-box security and compliance analysis and compliance without having to become a security and regulatory compliance expert. They offer a proven methodology for partners and end users to evaluate a system's current state against Microsoft Windows best practices and then validate that status post deployment to ensure continuous policy compliance."

"Connectalk and Microsoft have been collaborating to help secure large Windows environments by implementing Microsoft Windows Security Hardening Guides through ECM, Systems Management Server and Group Policies," said Guy-Marie Joseph, president, Connectalk, an IT system specialist in security solutions for the pharmaceutical and financial industries. "The first step in implementing a secure and reliable environment is to gain visibility into how your systems are configured today compared to the desired state of those systems. Offering this as a service to our customers through Configuresoft RSCA enables our clients to quickly assess the state of their enterprise to determine the level of compliance and adoption rate of the Microsoft Windows Security Hardening Guides without investing in an internal team of IT security experts."

About Enterprise Configuration Manager

ECM centralizes and automates the tasks of monitoring, managing and auditing the hardware and software configurations deployed in large non-centralized enterprise networks. By standardizing server and client configurations, ECM ensures operational compliance to regulatory, industry and corporate standards throughout a computing infrastructure. Sustained by the industry's most proven scalable architecture, ECM collects detailed critical configuration data from each Windows, UNIX, and Linux server and workstation--storing that information in a centralized database for immediate access, analysis, reporting and remediation. ECM enforces security policies by automatically resetting configurations to their pre-defined standards when an unauthorized change (or deviation) occurs. These powerful capabilities help IT organizations keep their critical systems properly configured, while ensuring security compliance with regulatory requirements such as HIPAA, GLBA, Sarbanes-Oxley and PCI DSS.

About Configuresoft's Center for Policy & Compliance

Configuresoft's Center for Policy & Compliance (CP&C) is comprised of a team of security and policy experts, IT auditors and early contributors to the Federal mandates and industry best practices. While the goal includes helping administrators better understand and evaluate the security of their network, the driving factor behind the CP&C is to help the market gain a better understanding of the tools that can help plan and implement automated strategies that effectively address regulatory and policy compliance issues.

About Configuresoft

Configuresoft is an innovator in systems management technology, serving eight of the world's 25 largest companies. Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Company offers enterprise configuration, policy compliance and remediation products that span both operations and IT security. At a time in which organizations must maintain a continuous state of audit throughout their infrastructure, Configuresoft ensures these environments conform to any desired or mandated state. To contact Configuresoft, call 719.447.4600, visit us on the Web at www.configuresoft.com or write to [e-mail].

CP&C is a trademark of Configuresoft, Inc. Other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.