Top Layer Networks' IPS 5500 Intrusion Prevention System Protects Customers from New Mass-Mailing Blackmal Worm.

WESTBOROUGH, Mass. -- TopResponse Advisory Provides Steps to Block Propagation of High-Risk Blackmal Threat, also known as Mywife.A, Nyxem.A and Blueworm.A

Top Layer Networks, the global leader for high performance intrusion prevention solutions, today announced that its IPS 5500 family of intrusion prevention systems protects customers from the newly-discovered Blackmal mass-mailing worm, also known as Mywife.A, Nyxem.A and Blueworm.A. The IPS 5500 provides network protection from the worm's propagation attempts that may impact network and system stability, lower security settings and change system configuration. Top Layer's TopResponse automated update service delivers this protection with Protection Packs 2006-01-3-01 and 2006-01-06-01.

W32.Blackmal@mm is a mass-mailing worm that uses a standalone SMTP engine to send copies of itself to all the contacts in MSN Messenger, Yahoo Pager, and e-mail addresses found in the files with the .htm or .dbx extensions. The infection occurs when a user opens an attachment that appears to have a .zip extension while it actually is an executable file.

"The Blackmal worm is especially nasty as its payload uses Windows Media Player to disguise its activities and tries to delete computer files and security software, while mass-mailing itself to others via its own SMTP engine," said Peter Rendall, president and CEO of Top Layer Networks. "It's the highest profile, most-damaging new worm in the short new year. Top Layer's continued diligence towards blocking new, emerging threats like the Blackmal worm helps our customers stay on the forefront of network protection regardless of whether those new threats be malicious content, undesired access or rate-based attacks or any type of sophisticated hybrid threat."

TopResponse Automatic Update Service is a comprehensive technical support service that provides Top Layer IPS 5500 customers with advanced security support services to maximize the security, availability and performance of their network. Specifically, TopResponse delivers Protection Pack updates of new threat information, technical support, security advisory and software subscription services, along with access to Top Layer's Security Knowledge Base and special delivery programs. Top Layer's TopResponse threat advisory provides instructions to block propagation of the recently-discovered Blackmal worm.

About the Top Layer IPS 5500

The IPS 5500 family of products offers the strongest levels of network protection, performance and reliability on the market today. By combining stateful firewall, content-based IPS/IDS, and attack mitigation algorithms, the IPS 5500 is the only solution that provides Three Dimensional Protection (3DP) against undesired access, malicious content and rate-based attacks. Top Layer's architecture enables the IPS 5500 to protect enterprises and service providers from sophisticated, hybrid attacks in real-time while enabling the highest throughput of legitimate traffic.

Top Layer Networks' family of network intrusion prevention solutions, the IPS 5500 series, has received top accolades from the world's most prestigious labs and influential publications. In 2005, Top Layer received the most awards and achievements of any IPS, including recognition from NSS Lab, Computer Reseller News, Information Security Magazine, SC Magazine, IT Week, Service Provider Weekly, the Tolly Group, and more.

To learn more about the IPS 5500, visit www.toplayer.com or call [phone].

About Top Layer Networks

Top Layer Networks is dedicated to its role as the leading global provider of Network Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS), developing and bringing to market network security infrastructure solutions that help commercial and government organizations protect their critical on-line assets from the losses and risks associated with cyber threats. Its family of IPS appliances is designed with "Three Dimensional Protection" that provides the most advanced protection capabilities against known and unknown attacks at the highest tested performance rates. Top Layer Networks is headquartered in Massachusetts, USA with sales and support presence in Canada, Germany, Japan, Korea, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom.