Qualys and Vernier Networks Kick-off CSO Breakfast Seminar Series on Network Integrity Featuring Leading Analyst Firm

New York — May 9, 2005 — Vernier Networks and Qualys kicked off their May 2005 CSO Breakfast Seminar Series entitled, “Best Practices Approach to Ensure Network Security” in New York today. Featuring leading Gartner IT security analysts, the seminar will discuss operational processes for vulnerability management and network access management and offer insight on how CSOs and IT security officers can protect their networks and stay current on rapidly changing network threats.

“Organizations need to protect their IT environment from systems that are insecure, corrupted, or non-compliant with security policies. CSOs are being tasked with stopping intrusions while ensuring maximum network uptime,” said Mark Nicolett, research vice president at Gartner Inc. “The most effective strategy to combat these threats is to implement a combination of vulnerability management, scan-and-block, and quarantine and containment technologies to minimize the number of systems affected and limit damage from potentially corrupt devices.”

Focusing on network access control, vulnerability management and intrusion prevention, the seminar will help CSOs further combat network threats and attacks and measure policy compliance. Attendees will hear from Qualys and Vernier customers about real world implementations and solutions. Additionally, the seminar will provide a chance for attendees to network with their peers in the security field.

“Staying ahead of the latest vulnerabilities and ensuring compliance with policies and regulations are constant challenges facing CSOs,” said Philippe Courtot, chairman and CEO of Qualys. “One of the objectives of this seminar series is to bring CSOs together to share information on where their networks stand in relation to emerging threats and exchange ideas on how to best address security issues.”

The seminar will examine best practices included in several recent Gartner reports on securing IT infrastructures through a vulnerability management and network access control process. These practices seek to protect against Internet worms, denial of service attacks, viruses and other sophisticated intrusions. Staying current on the latest best practices is more important than ever before with the latest generation of automated hacking tools that are able to attack multiple points on the network and inflict worldwide damage in just a few hours.

“Perimeter and desktop-based security solutions have failed to address critical security issues plaguing CSOs,” said Simon Khalaf, chief executive officer of Vernier Networks. “The seminar series will outline a strategy for implementing clientless security throughout the fabric of the network, unveil existing solutions to address the threats and discuss operational issues required for successful implementations.”

Offered free of charge in eight cities across the U.S., the RSVP-only seminars will run from 8:30 a.m. — 12:00 p.m. and will be held in the following locations:

• New York — Monday, May 9, 2005
• Boston — Wednesday, May 11, 2005
• Washington D.C. —p; Friday, May 13, 2005
• Atlanta — Monday, May 16, 2005
• Chicago — Wednesday, May 18, 2005
• Dallas — Friday, May 20, 2005
• Los Angeles — Monday, May 23, 2005
• San Francisco — Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Additional details and registration information can found at www.qualys.com/gartner.

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 only clientless network access management products that enable enterprises to assure business continuity. Deployed at the network edge, Vernier’s EdgeWall security appliance provides comprehensive network access management to defend against intrusions and attacks on the network by screening users and devices, restricting access, inspecting traffic for worms and viruses, and enforcing access policy. Vernier’s proven security solutions operate today in thousands of networks for hundreds of customers worldwide, and have received numerous awards including the eWEEK Excellence Award in 2005, 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.

Media Contact:
Tami Casey
Qualys
media@qualys.com