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Blue Coat and Proofpoint Partner to Deliver the Next Generation of Secure Web and Email Solutions

^{Published on 2008-12-17 13:53:49 - Market Wire}
 

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Blue Coat Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:BCSI), the leader in WAN Optimization and Secure Web Gateway, and Proofpoint, Inc. ([ http://www.proofpoint.com ]), the leading provider of unified email security, archiving and data loss prevention solutions, today announced that they have partnered to make available a comprehensive security solution that protects against malware attacks through both email and Web-based traffic. Proofpoint and Blue Coat are working to share email and URL reputation data to provide enhanced protection at the Internet gateway against spam, spyware, phishing attacks, malware, botnets and other email- and Web-borne threats.

Intelligence to Protect Against Evolving Malware

Blue Coat^® ProxySG^® and ProxyAV™ appliances and the Proofpoint on Demand™ hosted service and Proofpoint Messaging Security Gateway™ appliance will share real-time intelligence and reputation data to provide Blue Coat and Proofpoint customers with increased protection against the latest email and Web-based malware attacks. The interoperablesolution protects against inbound threats such as spam, viruses, phishing and denial-of-service attacks at the Internet and email gateways.

Proofpoint's email security, powered by the patent-pending Proofpoint MLX™ machine learning technology, inspect hundreds of thousands of attributes in incoming email messages to accurately detect and block spam, malware or phishing attempts. The Blue Coat ProxyAV appliance scans Web traffic for malware, including encrypted SSL-traffic, while ProxySG appliances act as an enforcement point at the Internet gateway for corporate IT policies.

Additionally, ProxySG appliances work in conjunction with the Blue Coat WebPulse™ cloud service to provide up-to-date information on the latest malware threats. With an advanced background malware detection process that utilizes ten threat detection engines, as well as human raters, the WebPulse service can identify new and evolving threats and provide updates to ProxySG appliances every five minutes. These real-time content ratings provide a tool for enterprises to categorize unknown content to which corporate IT policies can then be applied.

"The email and Web security gateway markets have been converging as blended threats become more advanced, and enterprises worldwide want to take a holistic approach to mitigating both message- and Web-borne risks," said Ramon Peypoch, executive vice president of business development for Proofpoint, Inc. "The close cooperation between Proofpoint and Blue Coat will give enterprises access to an interoperable solution for mitigating a huge range of the most pressing IT risks."

The combined Blue Coat and Proofpoint solution provides customers with the protection required to effectively combat evolving threats that attempt to enter the enterprise through email and Web-based communications. According to database ratings generated by Blue Coat, spyware, viruses, Trojans, worms and other malware sources have increased 113 percent since the start of 2008 while Web-based threats have tripled since 2007. Similarly, the Proofpoint Attack Response Center has seen the rate of spam accompanied by potentially malicious attachments rise by approximately 300 percent in the last six months.

"Increasingly, we are seeing malware threats moving to the Web with malicious links being delivered via email," said Bethany Mayer, senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing at Blue Coat Systems. "With a solution that protects email and Web-based traffic, Blue Coat and Proofpoint can provide customers with a comprehensive approach to protecting against ever evolving attacks."

Partnering to Deliver Interoperable Security Solutions

To help bring this solution to market, Proofpoint has joined the Blue Coat Technology Integration Partner Program as a global strategic partner. Similarly, Blue Coat has joined the Proofpoint Technology Partner Program as a global, strategic member. Through the participation in these partner programs, both companies will provide the engineering, training and support resources to build an interoperable security solution that protects email and Web-based communications.

Proofpoint will also add support for Blue Coat ProxySG appliances to its Proofpoint Network Content Sentry™ multi-protocol data loss prevention appliance. This support will enable the Proofpoint Network Content Sentry to utilize ProxySG appliances as an enforcement point to block outbound HTTP transmissions based on customizable policies defined in Proofpoint's data protection modules including Proofpoint Regulatory Compliance™ and Proofpoint Digital Asset Security™.

Joint Go-to-Market Strategy

Blue Coat and Proofpoint are engaged in joint sales and marketing activities and are working with joint value added resellers to bring customers a security solution that protects through email and at the Internet gateway.

"We view this partnership as highly favorable for our customers. Blue Coat and Proofpoint are both the best at what they do and we see this as ‘win-win' relationship for everyone involved," said Gary Fish, president and CEO of Fishnet Security. "We are encouraged that the companies are working to provide a comprehensive approach to email and Web security and look forward to delivering these solutions to our customers."

Proofpoint is the email security, archiving, encryption and DLP solution of choice for a rapidly growing number of enterprises, universities and government organizations worldwide, helping them stop spam, protect against email viruses and prevent leaks of confidential information via email and other network protocols.

As malware attacks continue to increase, the Blue Coat and Proofpoint solution provides customers with the security they need to protect their networks and users. This solution enables customers to effectively secure email and Web-based communications from evolving threats.

About Proofpoint, Inc.

Proofpoint secures and improves enterprise email infrastructure with solutions for email security, archiving, encryption and data loss prevention. Proofpoint solutions defend against spam and viruses, prevent leaks of confidential and private information, encrypt sensitive emails and archive messages for retention, e-discovery and easier mailbox management. Proofpoint solutions can be deployed on-premises (appliance), on-demand (SaaS) or in a hybrid architecture for maximum flexibility and scalability. For more information, please visit [ http://www.proofpoint.com ].

To learn firsthand how Proofpoint can protect your messaging infrastructure from both inbound and outbound messaging risks, request a free trial of Proofpoint's hosted service or virtual appliance solutions at the following URLs:

• To request a free, 30-day trial of Proofpoint on Demand, please visit: [ http://www.proofpoint.com/trypod ]
• To download a free, 45-day trial version of the Proofpoint Messaging Security Gateway—Virtual Edition, please visit: [ http://www.proofpoint.com/trial ]

About Blue Coat Systems

Blue Coat secures Web communications and accelerates business applications across the distributed enterprise. Blue Coat's family of appliances and client-based solutions - deployed in branch offices, Internet gateways, end points, and data centers - provide intelligent points of policy-based control enabling IT organizations to optimize security and accelerate performance between users and applications. Blue Coat has installed more than 40,000 appliances worldwide. Blue Coat is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and can be reached at (408) 220-2200 or [ www.bluecoat.com ].

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding Blue Coat Systems' expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future, and including statements regarding the capabilities and expected performance of Blue Coat Systems' products. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based upon information available to Blue Coat Systems as of the date hereof, and Blue Coat Systems assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These and other risks relating to Blue Coat Systems' business are set forth in Blue Coat Systems' Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 31, 2008 and Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2008, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Proofpoint, Proofpoint on Demand and Proofpoint Email Archiving are trademarks or registered trademarks of Proofpoint, Inc. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Blue Coat, ProxySG and the Blue Coat logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Blue Coat Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.