SOMERSET, N.J. – October 6, 2003 – Netilla Networks, Inc., a leading provider of SSL VPN and secure application access management solutions, today announced that it is working with Microsoft, Sygate, Symantec, WholeSecurity and Zone Labs to ensure the highest level of protection for its customers. By rigorously enforcing a company’s security policies for each user – whether remote, internal or extranet – on the network, these collaborations enable Netilla to extend protection to every point in the organization and to dynamically provision “trust-based access” to network resources. These technology collaborations extend Netilla’s dynaTRUST operating system for policy management and enforcement (see separate announcement today).

By integrating support for these vendors into its Netilla Security Platform, Netilla is providing its customers a full range of options to ensure that users’ devices are free from viruses and backdoor eavesdropping threats such as Trojan horses and that they work with specified firewalls and fully conform to enterprise security policies. The Netilla platform will now be able to verify whether the user’s PC is running the appropriate version of the operating system, with all necessary patches and updates installed, deny access if it does not, and even take remedial action to bring it into compliance with corporate policy. As Netilla’s application access modes have expanded to encompass thin-client access to legacy applications, clientless access to intranet/Web applications and network-layer access via SSL tunneling, these new endpoint security options enable customers to define an enterprise-wide “Virtual Trust Domain” to ensure the privacy of sensitive data while extending access to authorized users, regardless of location.

“A company’s information technology (IT) managers can establish enterprise-wide security policies, but the increasing challenge they’re facing is enforcing those policies at the ‘nomadic fringe’, where PCs and laptops are often outside their direct control,” said Bryan Bain, vice president of marketing and business development at Netilla Networks. “The combination of Netilla’s policy enforcement features with these best-in-class endpoint security products will help to ensure that each user’s device is in a trusted state before it connects to the network – significantly reducing the chances of compromising network integrity.”

“Netilla’s approach is unique in that it assumes networks are inherently vulnerable, and it has come up with a portfolio of solutions that gives its customers the power to ensure that all devices accessing the network – not just those onsite – are safe and conform to our specs,” said Tom Pacek, assistant vice president of technology at Virtua Health, a Marlton, N.J. health services provider. “Many of our remote users are physicians checking patient records from their home or office. The safeguards in this technology should help prevent them from unwittingly sending us viruses by ensuring that a firewall and virus-scanning software is activated.”

Netilla also announced it is establishing a dynaTRUST Alliance partner program to certify that third-party vendors’ products interoperate with the Netilla Security Platform. Netilla is collaborating with the third-party vendors announced today -- all of whom will be invited to join the dynaTRUST Alliance program -- as follows:

Microsoft: Research has shown that many virus and worm attacks can be traced to users’ failure to apply easily-installed software patches and security updates. By querying user entitlement privileges from Microsoft Active Directory and by adding support for the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer and Microsoft Software Update, the Netilla platform will now have the ability to ensure patch and configuration compliance of Microsoft Windows operating systems and browsers.

Sygate Technologies: Sygate provides a comprehensive security policy enforcement solution that eliminates vulnerabilities and blocks threats that interrupt global enterprise networks and exposes sensitive information to misuse. Netilla is collaborating with Sygate on enforcing location and role-based protection for company and non-company owned equipment using the Sygate Host Integrity Engine to enforce 100% compliance with corporate security policies, ensuring O/S and applications patches are applied, configurations are safe, wireless and wireline communications are safe, antivirus and anti-worm technologies are turned on, configured right and up to date.

Symantec: Netilla is working with Symantec, the world leader in Internet security technology, to protect corporate networks from viruses, worms and other threats, by enforcing security policy on user endpoints. Netilla recently joined the Symantec Technology Partner Program. As a result of this cooperation, dynaTRUST will be able to verify that Symantec's client products are active and up-to-date on the end-user device before initiating a session.

WholeSecurity: WholeSecurity’s Confidence Online™ provides on-demand personal firewall protection on any PC logging into a corporate network – even those not owned by the company. Because it provides, like the Netilla platform, on-demand deployment and administration, the solutions complement each other and lower the total cost of ownership (TCO) for providing secure remote access. WholeSecurity and Netilla have partnered to develop a tightly integrated solution to provide automatic “Zero Hour” protection against backdoor threats including Trojan horses and certain worms like Blaster and SoBig.

Zone Labs: Zone Labs, the most trusted provider of endpoint security solutions, and Netilla are partnering to ensure that the endpoint PC is protected proactively against hackers, Trojan horses, targeted attacks, viruses, worms and other threats. The integration between Netilla and Zone Labs enables enterprises to enforce policy on PCs before access to the corporate network is granted, as well as for the duration of the connection. Companies using Netilla benefit from knowing that Zone Labs' Cooperative Enforcement™ technology ensures that PCs adhere to corporate network security policies as a prerequisite for network connectivity, thus protecting organizations from network attacks.