Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

WatchGuard more attractive to government and public sector with EAL4 certification

WATCHGUARD GAINS EAL4 CERTIFICATION, MAKING IT MORE ATTRACTIVE TO GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANISATIONS

World's first EAL4-compliant, license-upgradeable firewall

Woking, Surrey: WatchGuard has achieved Evaluation Assurance Level 4 (EAL4) Certification for its Firebox X Core Series and for the WatchGuard X Peak Series of gigabit network security appliances, running Fireware Pro. According to Ian Kilpatrick, chairman of VAD Wick Hill Group, WatchGuard's largest worldwide distributor, EAL4 accreditation makes WatchGuard solutions an even more attractive proposition for government and pubic sector organisations, where EAL4 certification is preferred and often mandatory.

Kilpatrick commented: "We believe WatchGuard now has the world's first EAL4-compliant, license-upgradeable firewall, making it a major player in government and the public sector. Cost is a crucial factor in this market, and licence upgradeability allows users to buy the level of performance and functionality they can afford today, while giving them the option of adding more power (performance is licence upgradeable) and functionality (such as spam blocking, URL checking, quality of service management, gateway anti virus, etc.) in the future. This license upgradeability helps make the WatchGuard X Series extremely price-competitive for this sector."

Another benefit for public sector and government organisations is that the whole of the Firebox X range is EAL4 compliant and that all Firebox X Core and Firebox X Peak models run under the same operating environment, from remote office or departmental firewall up to high performance gigabit models. So, when you deploy multiple WatchGuard Firebox X solutions, they can all be managed centrally via one interface. Besides easier management and administration, this also cuts down on the amount of training required, bringing more cost benefits.

A further advantage is that WatchGuard's EAL4 certification is active against all current threat levels, unlike other competitive solutions where the certification may be for a version of many years ago.

Ian Kilpatrick commented: "WatchGuard has come up with an extremely compelling case for government and the public sector, with this EAL4 certified range. We've already seen significant interest in these solutions."

Price and availability
Prices for WatchGuard's Firebox X Core Series and WatchGuard Peak Series from GBP 1400 SRP through to GBP 8000 SRP (for gigabit models). Available from Wick Hill accredited resellers.

NOTES FOR EDITORS
WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: WGRD), a leading provider of network security, received Evaluation Assurance Level 4 (EAL4) Certification from the Canadian Common Criteria Evaluation and Certification Scheme (CCS) distinguishing WatchGuard's products as designed, tested and evaluated to meet the stringent requirements of the Common Criteria Standard, ISO 15408. The Common Criteria (CC) certification is a globally accepted standard for evaluating the security features and capabilities of information technology products. CC certifications are mutually accepted by all 21 countries participating in the Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement (CCRA), including the United States government through the National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP).

About Wick Hill
Established in 1976, VAD (value added distributor) Wick Hill specialises in secure infrastructure solutions. The company's portfolio covers security, performance, access, services and management. Wick Hill sources and delivers best-of-breed, easy-to-use solutions through its channel partners, providing customer support, implementation, training and technical services.


For further press information, contact Ian Kilpatrick or Kirsty Kilpatrick on 01483 227600, e-mail ian.kilpatrick@wickhill.co.uk. For reader queries contact Wick Hill on 01483 227600, e-mail info@wickhill.co.uk, web www.wickhill.com.
For pic of WatchGuard Peak, please download from www.prshots.com (search for Wick Hill).