Beat hackers with ISWest "Cadillac of Firewalls"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 6, 2004

AGOURA HILLS – With the world of hacking growing stronger each day, small- to medium-sized businesses seeking information security can find safety with ISWest's Internet Security Appliance, a turnkey solution that protects confidential information.

With network security a growing issue, the ISWest IP Secure is a perfect fit for today's businesses that use the Internet on a daily basis, said Robert V. Johnson, ISWest President.

"Every day companies are getting hit or attacked by hackers that want to get into their network to do damage or obtain information that is deemed private or confidential," Johnson said. "There are many firewall products on the market, but very few of them are fully managed by the Internet service provider."

Unfortunately, intruders are always discovering new vulnerabilities to exploit in computer software, and the complexity of software makes it tough to thoroughly test the security of computer systems, according to CERT® Coordination Center, a center of Internet security expertise at the Software Engineering Institute, a federally funded center run by Carnegie Mellon University.

Products like ISWest’s fully managed firewall/VPN give small- to medium-sized business a cost effective way to protect their network and manage their Internet connection, without taking their mind off business, said Drew J. Kaplan, ISWest CEO.

"Our fully managed firewall allows our customers to do what they do best, run their business, while ISWest does what they do best, manage their customers Internet connection and security. The ISWest IP Secure gives businesses peace of mind knowing that their network has a watch dog at the front door."

Considered the "Cadillac of Firewalls," IP Secure is a fully managed product with all the bells and whistles, such as Optional Virtual Private Networking (VPN), e-mail anti-virus protection, content filtering/web caching, and spam filtering, The IP Secure can also block employees from going to adult web sites and has advanced reporting functions that can be viewed over the web.

While 90% of the firewall products on the market today protect networks from intrusion, ISWest offers additional features in its firewall product that makes it a very powerful, all-in-one solution, Kaplan said.

"This solution is fully monitored and managed by ISWest giving our customers piece of mind. By having ISWest manage the Internet connection and the firewall services, it saves time and money. What tends to happen in this business is the ISP blames the firewall company for a problem and the firewall company blames a problem on the ISP. Now that ISWest handles both the Internet and the firewall, there is never any finger pointing."

About ISWest
ISWest ranked among the top 50 fastest growing technology companies in Los Angeles in 2003 and 2004. And among the top 500 in North America in 2003. The ISWest broadband network supports thousands of business customers and serves more than 150 major metropolitan areas across the United States. The company's success is built on the founders' commitment to deliver the best customer care in the Internet industry. Founded in 1996, ISWest is headquartered in Agoura Hills, California. For more information or to conduct an interview, call Drew Kaplan at ISWest, 818-735-3000 or toll-free at 877-735-1500.