Forum Systems Signs Agreement with Computer Associates to Launch Industrial-Strength XML Antivirus Product

Salt Lake City, UT — April 25, 2005 — Forum Systems, the leader in Web services security for threat protection and trust management, announced today an agreement with Computer Associates International, Inc. (NYSE:CA) to offer the industry’s first XML Antivirus solution. Forum Systems has integrated CA’s award-winning eTrustâ„? Antivirus software with the Forum XWallâ„? Web Services Firewall, bringing industrial-strength protection against today’s viruses, worms and other malware that can penetrate corporate networks by infecting XML and SOAP documents and their file attachments. The Forum XML Antivirus XAVâ„? capability extends CA’s antivirus engine to scan for viruses that can degrade and damage mission-critical infrastructure and business processes relying on XML, Web services and Service-Oriented Architectures (SOAs). Forum XAV also protects popular office and business applications that use XML as a standard data format.

With this announcement, Forum XWall consolidates XML antivirus capabilities with firewalling and intrusion prevention in one easy-to-deploy solution.

“XML is the new carrier of mainstream viruses and worms, allowing all sorts of malware to bypass firewalls and desktop antivirus scanners and allowing hackers to cloak their attacks. This affects all networks – even enterprises not yet utilizing Web services are vulnerable and may be unknowingly spreading viruses through their packaged business applications. We are pleased to partner with CA to head off the emerging threat factor of “XML-malware’ with proven antivirus technology in an easy-to-manage and cost-effective system,” said Wes Swenson, CEO of Forum Systems.

“XML-based applications and service-oriented IT environments are engendering new threats and vulnerabilities that require updated security strategies and technologies,” said Sam Curry, vice president of eTrust security management at CA. “By partnering with CA, Forum is offering a unique and effective solution for the Web service security challenge—one that significantly reduces risk and security-related IT workloads.”

According to a study by Computer Economics, the cost of worldwide losses from virus attacks is on the rise again, after dipping in 2001 and 2002. In 2004, the cost reached an all-time high of $17.5 billion. These numbers are expected to increase with the growth of extended enterprises and SOAs where businesses are tied together in complex, global networks and exposed to cascading effects of viruses and other malicious software. The damage inflicted by a single attack can snowball to bring down a company’s business operations.

According to Gartner analyst Ray Wagner, “As usage of Web services rises, so does the threat of self-replicating attacks on Web services.” Gartner estimates that by 2008, at least 30 percent of enterprises exposing Web services to the Internet will experience successful attacks causing more than four hours of downtime to business-critical functions (0.7 probability)[i] .

Until now, XML risk mitigation strategies have focused on guarding internal IT resources such as Web servers, database servers or PCs. Unfortunately in a hyper-connected world, a strategy that is biased towards trust-only mechanisms is dangerously one-sided and does not adequately protect against new methods of cyber security attacks.

Added Swenson, “Well-orchestrated threat protection solutions are the only way companies can limit enterprise exposure. By starting with threat protection as a best practice, enterprises can reduce 80 percent of their Web services risk at a fraction of the cost and effort of more complex internal trust management solutions.”

About Forum XAVâ„? (XML Antivirus)

Forum XWall is the first and only standalone Web Services Firewall with XIPâ„? (XML Intrusion Prevention), WS-I Profile conformance, XML Schema Restriction, WSDL Access Control and now XML Antivirus.

Forum XWall employs CA’s eTrust Antivirus to handle XML technology. This new module, called Forum XML Antivirus (XAV), filters and then scans any XML and SOAP document and its file attachment for viruses and other malware. When this feature is active, CA’s eTrust Security Advisor delivers antivirus signatures to Forum XWall. In conjunction with Forum’s unique VulCon (Vulnerability Containment) on-line service, customers are able to automatically receive and configure XML intrusion prevention policies, customized vulnerability alerts and software upgrades.

Forum XAV is available May 1, 2005 with the release of Forum XWall X5.0 in software and hardware appliance options. The pricing for Forum XWall with XAV ranges from $5,000 to $40,000 depending on software and hardware configuration, with additional subscription fees for antivirus and VulCon updates. The product is available from Forum’s Website, direct sales and channel and OEM partners.

About CA eTrust Antivirus

Voted best antivirus solution by SC Magazine’s prestigious Reader’s Choice Award, eTrust Antivirus is part of CA’s acclaimed family of eTrust security management solutions and provides superior protection from the perimeter to the PDA against one of today’s most prevalent security threats — viruses. eTrust Antivirus r7.1 reduces the risk of business-interrupting virus infections with its simplified and automated updating, flexible administration, and enforcement of security polices. eTrust Antivirus has been certified by ICSA Labs and West Coast Labs, and CA has received a record 41 Virus Bulletin “VB 100%” awards for detecting 100% of viruses “in-the-wild.” eTrust Antivirus is supported by CA’s eTrust Security Advisor, which provides around-the-clock monitoring and protection against the latest viruses and blended threats.

About Forum Systems

Trustworthy, ubiquitous and robust Web services can only be achieved by combining security controls that are proactive, always on and systematic. Forum Seamless Security Solutions Architecture (Forum S3Aâ„?) is an adaptive approach to building security minded service-oriented applications and data-level networks using life-cycle solutions including vulnerability management, testing systems, firewalls and gateways. Forum products are available as software, PCI-card and appliance options and comply with government requirements including FIPS Certification, Common Criteria EAL 4+ and JITC DoD PKI Certification. Forum Systems is an active a member of OASIS and WS-I helping mature standards such as WS-I Basic Profiles, SAML and WS-Security. Customers can immediately benefit from Forum technology that is bundled with market-leading products including Microsoft ISA Server 2004, NetContinuum NC-1000 WSE, Network Engines NS6300X, and Oblix COREid and COREsv. For more information on adaptive solutions for Web services security visit http://vulcon.forumsys.com .

Forum Systems, Inc. is the Leader in Web Services Securityâ„? with a comprehensive suite of trust management, threat protection and information assurance solutions for the automated Web. Forum Systems’ flexible hardware, software and embedded products make vibrant business communications possible by actively protecting XML data and Web services across networks and business boundaries. Forum’s products have been chosen by over 80 Fortune 1000 industry leaders and are winners of Network Computing Magazine’s Well-Connected 2004 Award and Product of the Year 2004 Award, Network Computing Magazine’s Editor’s Choice 2003 Award, Network Magazine’s Product of the Year 2003 Award and DEMO 2004 Invitation. Forum XWall Web Services Firewall is the industry’s only XML Firewall selected by InfoWorld LEADERBOARD 2004. Visit Forum at http://www.forumsys.com/ .