S21sec signs agreement with Qualys to improve management of security risks

Madrid, - September 1st, 2008 - S21sec, a Spanish company specialising in digital security, has selected Qualys, a leading company in vulnerability management and Policy Compliance, to integrate and market its solution QualysGuard on S21sec’s platform. QualysGuard is a solution for the administration of organisational security risks which also provides compliance with security regulations.

After a thorough technical analysis by the evaluation team of S21sec labs in order to verify the reliability and quality of the product, the security company has implemented QualysGuard as a “Software as a Service” (SaaS) platform at its 24-Hour Security Operations Centre, integrating it into its Bitacora suite and its Unified Management Security System (UMSS). This solution will enable S21sec to optimise its regular remote audit services, especially the quarterly scans required by the PCI DSS standard developed by the major credit card companies and by other standards and rules.

QualysGuard will also be a key element in the detection of vulnerabilities and in driving forward the preventive work of the company’s e-crime unit, especially its webmalware prevention services. Additionally, QualysGuard will be integrated into Vulnera, the largest Spanish vulnerabilities database, created and populated by S21sec. This will enable the results of the scans carried out to be expressed in Spanish, providing full information on the vulnerabilities which could affect the organisation, including a description, specific details, and solution, contributing to a comprehensive vulnerabilities management service.

The service will be offered through S21sec’s comprehensive Unified Management Security System (UMSS), which allows clients to view the results through an easy access portal, with a practical interface for risk assessment, and to measure levels of compliance for security regulations, thus facilitating the making of decisions. In addition, the integration of QualysGuard into the Security Operations Centre guarantees that customer information is kept securely inside s21sec’s systems, ensuring compliance with privacy of information requirements.

“Through this agreement, we can equip our vulnerability detection systems with new resources, increasing accuracy levels and minimising administration and updating requirements”, said Xabier Mitxelena Ruiz, General Manager of S21sec. “Customers can analyse data on possible threats and correlate them in real time. This allows them to manage risk effectively and to prepare reports in accordance with current regulations”, he added.

“The market demands real-time visibility of vulnerabilities and compliance posture, meanwhile companies are worried about increasing their operating costs”, said Philippe Courtot, CEO and Chairman of Qualys. “We are delighted that S21sec selected our SaaS Vulnerability and Compliance solution that tightly integrates with UMSS to help customers address their security compliance challenges while minimising their expenditure on IT and on meeting regulatory requirements.”

About S21sec

S21sec, a company specialising in digital security services and a leader in this sector, was founded in the year 2000 and employs more than 230 qualified experts. Research and development have been a priority objective in S21sec’s strategy since from the start. This led it to create the first European R&D centre specialising in digital security. S21sec works with 20% of the companies quoted on the Eurostoxx 50 and is present in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, United Kingdom and the Arab Emirates. S21sec provides complete digital security services, worldwide, 24 hours a day. Further information is available at www.s21sec.com.

About Qualys

Qualys, Inc. is the leading provider of on demand IT security risk andcompliance management solutions – delivered as a service. Qualys’Software-as-a-Service solutions are deployed in a matter of hours anywhere inthe world, providing customers an immediate and continuous view of theirsecurity and compliance postures. The QualysGuard® service is used today bymore than 3,500 organizations in 85 countries, including 35 of the FortuneGlobal 100 and performs more than 200 million IP audits per year. Qualys hasthe largest vulnerability management deployment in the world at a FortuneGlobal 50 company. Qualys has established strategic agreements with leadingmanaged service providers and consulting organizations including BT, Etisalat,Fujitsu, IBM, I(TS)2, LAC, SecureWorks, Symantec, TELUS and VeriSign. For moreinformation, please visit www.qualys.com.

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Qualys, the Qualys logo and QualysGuard are proprietary trademarks of Qualys, Inc. All other products or names may be trademarks of their respective companies.

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