SAN JOSE, CA, October 6, 2008 — Secure Computing Corporation (Nasdaq: SCUR), a leading enterprise gateway security company, today announced that PlantCML has selected Secure Firewall (formerly known as Sidewinder®) to protect North Americas next generation 9-1-1 emergency services from Internet threats. PlantCML cited Secure Firewalls industry-leading performance, as well as Secure Computings outstanding customer service, as key reasons for switching from their previous firewall.
“Secure Firewall is a strategic investment for our customers, not only to help them deal with current security problems, but also to prepare them for the next generation of emergency calls,” said Jeremy Smith, PlantCMLs Technical Solutions Engineer. “Were telling our customers they should move to next generation 9-1-1 because of the new features, but they also need to make sure that they have the appropriate security in place. And an important part of that security is the Secure Firewall.”
PlantCML provides communications solutions and services for more than 4,000 public safety answering points throughout the United States and Canada. Until recently, most of these 9-1-1 call centers utilized traditional telephone services and physical PBX systems. However, emergency responders are beginning to transition to Voice over IP (VoIP) systems which transmit calls via the Internet. IP-based systems offer a number of advantages, such as the ability to receive text messages, e-mail, video and cell phone pictures. Unfortunately, this new technology also makes critical call centers more vulnerable to attacks from hackers.
Because emergency call centers cant afford any downtime due to Internet-based attacks, PlantCML looked for the best firewall available to protect both its own network operations center and its clients facilities. They chose Secure Firewall.
“If youre a 9-1-1 call center, you need the best you can get,” explained Smith. “Secure Computing had a much better product for protecting against application-layer attacks, which dominate the Internet today. Simply put, the firewall is just a better firewall.”
“Currently 70 to 80 percent of attacks target application vulnerabilities,” noted Scott Montgomery, vice president of Product Management, Secure Computing. “However, most other products on the market today cannot adequately protect systems from this type of attack. In fact, Secure Firewall is the only firewall with EAL4+ certification for application-layer protection.”
In addition, Secure Firewall marries anti-virus, IPS, true VoIP security and more in one powerful appliance. It also leverages Secure Computings industry-leading TrustedSource™ technology, which assigns reputation scores to Internet hosts and devices based on behavior. As a result, Secure Firewall drops over 70 percent of unwanted traffic at the outer edge of the network, long before viruses, worms, Trojans, intrusion attempts, spam, phishes, cross-site scripting, SQL injections, denial of service, botnets, zombies, blended attacks or attacks hiding in encrypted protocols can do any harm.
According to Smith, PlantCML also appreciates Secure Computings commitment to customer service. “We found that Secure Computing really understood our unique business model, and they are able to give us the ‘care and feeding that we need. Our rep even sent a sales engineer with me all the way to the state of Maine to work on a deal.”
PlantCML uses Secure Firewall to protect its managed services operations, as well as selling the appliance as part of their Sentinel® Patriot IP-based incident response solution. They also install Secure Computings Secure Snapgear® appliances at client sites to route calls that come in over a POP (dial-up) connection. With this protection in place, PlantCML is securing the 9-1-1 call centers of today—and tomorrow.
About PlantCML
PlantCML is North Americas leading provider of crisis communications and emergency response solutions and services. The company has more than 600 employees and is headquartered in Temecula, California, with other U.S. operations in Tennessee, Indiana and Alabama, and a Canadian operation in Quebec. PlantCML offers leading edge telecommunications functionality for mission-critical applications through flexible, scalable E911 solutions covering wireless communications, Computer Telephony Integrated (CTI) workstations, Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD), Voice over IP (VoIP) and NG911 solutions, emergency notification and more. It serves both the public safety and private security sectors, including federal agencies, transportation and utilities. More information is available online at www.plantcml.com.
About Secure Computing Corporation
Secure Computing Corporation (Nasdaq: SCUR), a leading provider of enterprise gateway security, delivers a comprehensive set of solutions that help customers protect their critical Web, email and network assets. Over half the Fortune 50 and Fortune 500 are part of our more than 22,000 global customers, supported by a worldwide network of more than 2,000 partners. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., and has offices worldwide. For more information, see www.securecomputing.com.