Vernier Networks and Qualys Partner to Deliver Advanced Trusted Network Admission

Mountain View, Calif. and Redwood City, Calif. — July 21, 2004 — Vernier Networks® today announced that it has entered a technology partnership with Qualys™ to integrate the QualysGuard® on demand vulnerability management service into Vernier’s new Adaptive Security Platform. This integration offers enterprises advanced trusted network admission control, which enables them to fortify network defenses against worms and viruses and assure business continuity.

Among other features, Vernier’s ASP manages the network admission process and will incorporate Qualys’ vulnerability management technology and service to determine the user’s risk posture at authentication, prior to granting access. A user that is deemed high-risk is placed into quarantine and denied admission until those vulnerabilities have been remediated. This risk tolerance level is determined by the organization’s IT security personnel and can be adjusted by role, threat level or other internal policies.

“With the number of security breaches from internal threats growing, a strong perimeter is no longer enough. A strategy for implementing internal security policies is necessary to combat today’s vulnerabilities and threats,” said Gerhard Eschelbeck, chief technology officer and vice president of engineering for Qualys. “Combining our vulnerability data and scanning capabilities into Vernier’s network admission feature will curb the network’s exposure to known threats and stop worms and viruses from gaining a foothold.”

Vernier’s ASP is an integrated security solution that provides five layers of protection from Trusted Network Design, Trusted Network Admission, Trusted Network Defense, Trusted Network Outbreak Management, and Trusted Network Remediation. These layers reduce the possibility of an attack, and if an attack occurs, resolve the attack immediately while adapting policy to prevent future threats to the network. The result is an unprecedented level of network security and an assurance of business continuity.

“Vernier’s Trusted Network Admission is a key part to its five-layer approach to network security,” said Simon Khalaf, president and CEO of Vernier. “By integrating Qualys’ industry-leading vulnerability management service into our admission process, we can offer enterprise customers a strong, best-of-breed solution that stops insecure devices from ever gaining access, an important step in battle-hardening the network against worms and viruses and assuring business continuity.”

About Qualys

With more than 2,000 subscribers ranging from small businesses to multinational corporations, Qualys has become the leader in on demand vulnerability management and policy compliance. The company allows security managers to strengthen the security of their networks effectively, conduct automated security audits and ensure compliance with internal policies and external regulations. Qualys’ on demand technology offers customers significant economic advantages, requiring no capital outlay or infrastructure to deploy and manage. Its distributed scanning capabilities and unprecedented scalability make it ideal for large, distributed organisations. Hundreds of large companies have deployed Qualys on a global scale, including AXA, DuPont, Hershey Foods, ICI Ltd, Novartis, Sodexho, Standard Chartered Bank and many others. Qualys is headquartered in Redwood City, California, with European offices in France, Germany and the U.K., and Asian representatives in Japan, Singapore, Australia, Korea and the Republic of China. For more information, please visit www.qualys.com.

About Vernier Networks

Vernier Networks offers the industry’s first adaptive security products for wired and wireless networks that enable enterprises to assure business continuity. Vernier’s Adaptive Security Platform (ASP) proactively protects enterprise networks from increasingly complex attacks, actively resolves intrusions, while continually adapting network security policy to protect against future threats. Vernier’s proven security solutions operate today in thousands of networks for hundreds of customer worldwide, and have received numerous awards including InfoWorld’s 2004 Technology of the Year Award and the 2003 Product of the Year Award from Network Magazine. Vernier is a privately held company headquartered in Mountain View, Calif. and can be found on the Web at www.verniernetworks.com.

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

For media inquiries or to find the appropriate spokesperson

Contact: Christine Yum Lenz
Vernier Networks
(650) 279-9771

Contact: Cathy Summers
SHIFT Communications
(415) 591-8415

Contact: Megan Lamb
Merritt Group
703-390-1535

For all other matters

Contact: pr@qualys.com

Media Contacts:
Tami Casey
Qualys
(650) 801-6196
tcasey@qualys.com

Mariah Gauthier
HighwirePR
(415) 963 4174
qualys@highwirepr.com