ATLANTA, GA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 08/14/07 -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that its Internet Security Systems (ISS) division has been positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the leaders quadrant in the North America Managed Security Services Providers (MSSPs) Magic Quadrant for the first half of 2007. According to the Gartner report, "leaders" in the North American MSSPs Magic Quadrant are vendors who have "significant 'mind share' among enterprises looking to buy an MSS from pure-play security vendors, and they generally receive positive reports on service and performance from Gartner clients. Vendors in the Leaders quadrant are typically appropriate options for enterprises requiring frequent interaction with the MSSP for analyst expertise and advice, portal-based correlation and workflow support, and flexible reporting options."(1)

According to the Magic Quadrant report: "The managed security services market in North America generated revenue of approximately $500 million in 2006, and Gartner estimates that revenue will grow about 19 percent in 2007."(1)

"I believe that being positioned in the leaders quadrant in Gartner's MSSPs Magic Quadrant affirms that IBM ISS consistently meets the needs of our customers even as the online threat landscape continues to evolve on a daily basis," said Jason Hilling, Enterprise Services Business Line Executive with IBM Internet Security Systems. "As part of IBM, Internet Security Systems brings value to clients by combining our comprehensive, preemptive security technology, services and intelligence with IBM's broad services portfolio and expertise, innovative research and global reach."

IBM Internet Security Systems is continually innovating to meet the needs of clients. Since 2006, IBM ISS has:

--  Laid the foundation for security services on demand with the
    introduction of its Virtual Security Operations Center (Virtual-SOC). The
    Virtual-SOC is designed to offer customers a services-based approach for
    implementing security virtually wherever, whenever and however they need it
    in a rapid and cost-effective manner.
--  Unveiled Security Event and Log Management services to help companies
    more easily meet compliance requirements, while avoiding the high upfront
    costs and implementation timeframes typically associated with security
    information and event management products.
--  Expanded its line of Managed Security Services to include a Unified
    Threat Management (UTM) service, a shared intrusion prevention system (IPS)
    service and a shared firewall service. These services are designed to help
    lower costs and simplify security purchasing, maintenance and management,
    making them attractive options for small and medium businesses (SMBs) and
    remote/branch offices of larger companies.
--  Incorporated a new e-mail security service into its portfolio. The new
    service is designed to help keep small- to medium-sized companies ahead of
    e-mail borne threats, including spam, viruses, phishing attacks,
    inappropriate content and data leakage. The service works transparently
    without any upfront investment or need to install hardware or software.
--  Enhanced its flagship intrusion prevention system product line to
    accommodate SMBs and remote/branch offices on one end of the spectrum and
    meet the needs of very large enterprises and carriers on the other end.
    

Through its Managed Security Services (MSS) group, IBM ISS offers a comprehensive range of services for various security vendors and technologies including firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, unified threat management (UTM), security event and log management, vulnerability management, e-mail and Web security. IBM ISS also offers its MSS customers a Managed Protection Services option featuring the industry's only money-back guarantee.

In conjunction with the IBM ISS Professional Security Services group, the MSS team also offers consulting, regulatory compliance and emergency response services to its customers, as well as value-added security intelligence updates from the IBM X-Force® research and development team. In addition to managing its own security offerings, IBM ISS also supports and manages products from third-party vendors, which can help maximize the value of customers' existing security investments.

Managed Security Services complement IBM ISS' Proventia® product line, a multi-layered security solution intended to provide preemptive protection from network- and host-based attacks before they impact business assets. For additional information on IBM ISS Managed Security Services, please go to: http://www.iss.net/services

About IBM Internet Security Systems

IBM Internet Security Systems is the trusted security advisor to thousands of the world's leading businesses and governments, providing preemptive protection for networks, desktops and servers. An established leader in security since 1994, the IBM Proventia® integrated security platform is designed to automatically protect against both known and unknown threats, helping to keep networks up and running and shielding customers from online attacks before they impact business assets. IBM Internet Security Systems products and services are based on the proactive security intelligence of its X-Force® research and development team -- the unequivocal world authority in vulnerability and threat research. The Internet Security Systems product line is also complemented by comprehensive Managed Security Services and Professional Security Services. For more information, visit the Internet Security Systems Web site at www.iss.net or call 800-776-2362.

Internet Security Systems is a trademark and Proventia and X-Force are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. All other companies and products mentioned are trademarks and property of their respective owners.

(1) - The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted August 2007 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Gartner, Inc., "Magic Quadrant for MSSPs, North America, 1H07," by Kelly M. Kavanagh and John Pescatore, August 1, 2007

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Contact:
Angela Frechette
IBM Internet Security Systems
404.236.3197
afrechet@us.ibm.com