Press Releases

Atlanta – December 5, 2007 - AirDefense, the innovator that launched the wireless LAN security market, recently co-sponsored an independent research study conducted by Aberdeen Group titled “Reducing the Financial Risk of Wireless Networks: Best Practices in Wireless LAN Security.” The study shows that the top 20 percent of organizations saved an average of $600,000 annually by preventing wireless network breaches.

Nearly 300 organizations worldwide were surveyed and many quantitative conclusions were reached, including that the top 20 percent of organizations deploying a wireless intrusion prevention system began investigating network attacks over the wireless infrastructure in less than nine minutes, while the industry average was nearly 60 minutes. The bottom 30 percent of organizations took more than seven hours to begin an investigation. For a complimentary copy of the study log onto: http://www.airdefense.net.

“Aberdeen’s latest research on WLAN security shows that the two greatest pressures facing organizations is the fear of financial losses and the need to comply with government or industry regulations requiring enterprises to follow strict processes to protect private information,” said Philippe Winthrop, research director, security and mobility, Aberdeen Group. “Today, IT administrators are challenged with providing WLAN end users flexibility and convenience while at the same time investigating an increase in wireless security threats across their organizations.”

Additional quantitative findings from the ‘Reducing the Financial Risk of Wireless Networks’ study included:

1. Key wireless security pressures organizations face include risk of financial losses (55 percent), regulatory compliance (39 percent) and risk of brand damage (26 percent).
2. Best-in-class organizations defined as the top 20 percent of the sample set, spent 28 percent more than all other organizations initially to secure their wireless networks but reduced the financial loss from data breaches over the last 12 months by 99 percent. That initial investment prevented an average financial loss associated with wireless incidents of more than $600,000 translating to a return-on-investment of more than 4,900 percent.
3. Best-in-class organizations received 88 percent fewer wireless networking related help desk calls per month.

“Aberdeen’s survey proves that the one way global enterprises stay ahead of hackers is to deploy AirDefense’s wireless intrusion prevention system, as early detection is critical in identifying the threat and shutting it down,” said Mike Potts, president and CEO, AirDefense. “It’s inconceivable to successfully defend a corporate network from potential threats if IT administrators are being notified several hours after an incident occurred.”

“AirDefense emphasizes the need for 24x7 wireless intrusion prevention and effective rogue wireless containment,” said Amit Sinha, chief technology officer, AirDefense. “AirDefense Enterprise can accurately eliminate every instance of rogue wireless access and prevent over 200 wireless attacks and policy violations, in real-time. Coupled with detailed forensic analysis, reporting and troubleshooting capabilities, AirDefense Enterprise is the industry-leading wireless security platform.”

About the Reducing the Financial Risk of Wireless Networks Survey
In July 2007, Aberdeen Group examined the use of WLAN technologies and the experiences and intentions of nearly 300 organizations in a diverse set of industries. Responding organizations completed an online survey that included questions designed to determine the following: the degree to which WLANs are deployed in their operations and the financial implications of securing their infrastructure, the effectiveness of existing WLAN security implementations, current and planned use of WLAN security solutions and the benefits, if any, that have been derived from wireless security initiatives. Additional information on research methodology can be found in the report.

About AirDefense
AirDefense is the market leader in anywhere, anytime wireless security. The company is trusted by more Fortune 500 companies, healthcare organizations and high-security government agencies for enterprise wireless protection than any other company. AirDefense products provide the most advanced solutions for rogue wireless detection, policy enforcement and intrusion prevention, both inside and outside an organization's physical locations and wired networks. Common Criteria-certified, AirDefense enterprise-class products scale to support single offices as well as organizations with hundreds of locations around the globe. Founded in 2001, AirDefense is based in Atlanta, GA and serves nearly 700 government agencies and blue chip corporations. For more information, please visit http://www.airdefense.net or call 770.663.8115.

AirDefense Contact:
Bill Keeler or Melissa Chan
Schwartz Communications
PH: 781-684-0770
airdefense@schwartz-pr.com

Kristin K. Callaway
AirDefense Public Relations
770-843-5256
kcallaway@airdefense.net