Watchfire Announces AppScan 6.0.

WALTHAM, Mass. -- New Version Significantly Advances Web Application Security Testing by Delivering New Remediation Capabilities, Industry Leading Regulatory Compliance Reporting and Improving User Productivity Through Enhanced Scanning Speed and a Redesigned User Interface

Watchfire, the leading provider of software and services to automate web application security testing, today announced new releases of AppScan(R) and AppScan(R) Developer Edition (DE). AppScan 6.0 introduces features that deliver new remediation capabilities, key regulatory compliance reporting, a redesigned user interface and productivity enhancements that dramatically improve, automate and streamline users' ability to quickly find, remediate and manage web application security vulnerabilities.

"Security teams today are under intense pressure and many cannot keep up with the volume of applications they need to test. Currently, they are either catching issues late in the development cycle or often not at all," said Michael Weider, CTO, Watchfire. "We spent more than a year working on this release and we were laser focused on eliminating barriers to fixing critical security flaws, boosting the level of automation and improving efficiency. AppScan 6.0 is a significant milestone and sets a new benchmark for web application testing with innovative capabilities that not only identify critical application weaknesses but also provide intelligent fix recommendations, improving the ease and speed by which users are able to understand, prioritize and remediate critical web application security issues."

Previous generation products simply identify the vulnerability, and can overwhelm users with a myriad of issues instead of helping them fix the problems. With the new remediation capabilities in AppScan 6.0, users can easily understand how to fix these issues. AppScan 6.0 also features a completely re-built and redesigned user interface and reporting engine, a simplified application-centric versus vulnerability results view, a streamlined hierarchical results tree, revolutionary smart consolidation features and intelligent and actionable fix recommendations conveniently grouped by the type and severity of the exposure. AppScan simplifies the remediation process, eliminating barriers to fixing critical security issues and dramatically improving user productivity and return on investment.

"Online security breaches continue to re-enforce the serious security threats associated with web application vulnerabilities. Many organizations are aware of the problem, which is being exacerbated by increasing regulations, but have not been able to manage it well," said Charles Kolodgy, research director for Security Products at IDC. "For strong risk mitigation associated with web applications, enterprises need to invest in automated solutions that can identify and mitigate web application weaknesses, audit for regulatory compliance, and offer intelligent prioritization of what critical solutions need to be fixed."

Developers today have hundreds of critical applications that need to be tested in a timely manner. AppScan's patented scanning engine already boasts the industry's fastest scanning capabilities and with 6.0, the company has further improved its scanning speed, performance and scalability, and includes wizard-based scan configuration-- huge productivity benefits for users.

AppScan 6.0 reports on more than 30 global compliance requirements and standards, including Sarbanes Oxley (SOX), Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), Gramm-Leach Bliley Act (GLBA), Visa CISP, NERC CIPC Security Guidelines for the Electricity Sector, the Japanese Personal Information Protection Act 2003 (JPIPA), the UK Data Protection Act 1998 (UK DPA), Director of Central Intelligence DCID 6/3 (US DOD regulation) and the California Assembly Bill No. 1950 (CA AB 1950). AppScan 6.0 maps to Open Web Application Security Project's (OWASP) top 10 critical web application vulnerabilities, the SANS Top 20, the Web Application Security Consortium (WASC) standards and many others, providing the most complete compliance reporting.

Because new methods for attacking web applications are growing in volume and frequency, AppScan 6.0 now features daily security vulnerability updates.

AppScan is the industry's first and most widely deployed web application security testing tool. Earlier this year Watchfire successfully introduced a web application security partner program and has signed 14 new global resellers, solution providers and technology partners including SiegeWorks, Fujitsu Korea, RedCliff, Stalwart, and Ostfold Software. The company has expanded its technology partnerships with Mercury, F5 and Microsoft. Watchfire also recently introduced a version of AppScan(R) for Mercury Quality Center(TM). Please see today's related supporting partner release at: http://www.watchfire.com/news/releases/12-05-05b.aspx

AppScan 6.0 is the first release in a security roadmap that will feature several new solutions updates in 2006. For more technical features and details on AppScan 6.0 please visit: http://www.watchfire.com/resources/appscansix-overview.pdf

About Watchfire

Watchfire provides software and services to manage online risk. More than 300 enterprise organizations and government agencies, including AXA Financial, SunTrust, Boots PLC, Veterans Affairs and Dell rely on Watchfire to monitor, manage, improve and secure all aspects of the online business including security, privacy, quality, accessibility, corporate standards and regulatory compliance. Watchfire's alliance and technology partners include IBM Global Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers, TRUSTe, Microsoft, Interwoven, EMC Documentum and Mercury. Watchfire is headquartered in Waltham, MA. For more information, please visit www.watchfire.com.

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