The Bank of East Asia Chooses WatchGuard as its Security Partner.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 11, 2003

Leading Asian bank selects WatchGuard Firebox Vclass appliances to

enable mission-critical banking services and empower

value-added communications applications

WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:WGRD), a leading provider of Internet security solutions, today announced that The Bank of East Asia Ltd. has selected WatchGuard Firebox Vclass security appliances to protect its mission-critical banking services and networking applications.

The Bank of East Asia offers a mission-critical banking service that allows customers real-time access to service and account information anywhere, anytime. This calls for a robust, fault-tolerant security platform to run the application, according to Nelson Lam, PC Team, Information Technology Department, The Bank of East Asia.

"We rely on WatchGuard to provide a secure environment to empower mission-critical financial transactions," said Lam. "We selected the WatchGuard Firebox Vclass security appliances because of the advanced product features and exceptional performance."

IT Partners Ltd., a WatchGuard Secured Partner at the expert level and a WatchGuard Managed Security Services provider, will install the WatchGuard solution and provide ongoing service and support. The WatchGuard Secured Partner Program is designed for Value Added Resellers who have an established security and networking business and who conduct on-site sales, technical support and consultation.

"Our key focus for this project is to deliver a robust, feature-rich, high-performance security platform that meets The Bank of East Asia's current and future security needs," said Sunny Ho, director of sales, IT Partners Ltd. "I'm pleased that in doing so, we are also enabling the customer to deploy exciting value-added applications such as video conferencing."

The Bank of East Asia expects to deploy WatchGuard Firebox appliances at its branches across the region. In addition to supporting banking services, this security infrastructure will enable the bank to offer VPN connections and value-added voice-over-IP and video conferencing services to enhance internal communications and cost efficiencies.

Featuring a custom-built security ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) at its core, the WatchGuard Firebox Vclass product line includes the V100, V80, V60, V60L and V10 appliances, which are specifically designed to address the performance and flexibility needs of a wide range of medium-sized enterprise customers running distributed networks and data center environments.

About The Bank of East Asia Ltd. (BEA)

BEA is the largest independent local bank in Hong Kong, with total assets of HK$189 billion (US$24.3 billion) as of 30 June 2003. BEA is listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and is one of the constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Index. The BEA Group offers a full range of wholesale and retail banking services through the Bank's corporate banking, personal banking, investment banking and China services units. Products and services range from deposit-takings, foreign currency savings, premium banking services, mortgage loans, consumer loans, credit cards, Cyberbanking, Mandatory Provident Fund services, trade finance, syndication loans, remittances and foreign exchange margin trading. In addition, the BEA Group provides comprehensive insurance services through its subsidiary Blue Cross (Asia-Pacific) Insurance Ltd, and business, corporate and investor services via the Tricor Group. Currently the BEA Group operates over 130 outlets worldwide, including 101 branches in Hong Kong, 19 outlets in Greater China and an extensive international network covering the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the British Virgin Islands and Southeast Asia.

About WatchGuard Technologies, Inc.

WatchGuard is a leading provider of Internet security solutions for small- to medium-sized enterprises worldwide, delivering integrated products and services that are robust as well as easy to buy, deploy and manage. WatchGuard security appliances are designed to deliver powerful firewall and VPN performance, outstanding security, intrusion prevention and networking features, scalability and flexibility in an affordable, integrated solution. Every WatchGuard product comes with an initial subscription to the company's innovative LiveSecurity service, which is designed to protect customers against constantly emerging threats by providing timely systematic updates, security intelligence and expert information. As a recent addition to its suite of security solutions, the company now offers customers the WatchGuard AuditScan service, powered by Qualys, a vulnerability assessment service that provides another layer of proactive perimeter protection to complement the security appliance. For more information, please call 206-521-8340 or visit www.watchguard.com.

Certain statements in this press release, including statements about the expected deployment of WatchGuard product at BEA's branch offices and other statements about our plans, objectives, intentions, and expectations are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the time the statements are made and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and inaccurate assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected or implied by the forward-looking statements. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements for many reasons, including the risk that WatchGuard product will not be deployed at BEA's branch offices as expected and the other risks described under "Important Factors That May Affect Our Operating Results, Our Business and Our Stock Price" in our report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2003, and in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings from time to time. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release.

WatchGuard, LiveSecurity, Firebox and AuditScan are either registered trademarks or trademarks of WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Qualys is a trademark of Qualys, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.