Protects Against Encrypted Viruses, Spyware, Phishing and Rogue Applications While Boosting Performance

Dubai - February 5th 2006: Blue Coat Systems Middle East, the leader in secure content and application delivery, today announced it is delivering solutions to provide visibility and control over encrypted Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) communications between internal employees and external Web sites. SSL threats include encrypted viruses, spyware, phishing attacks and SSL traffic that can be used by employees attempting to send confidential information out of the organisation or to circumvent other security policies in an organisation. Without this type of technology, IT managers are blind to the content within SSL communications and unable to comply with various regulations and policies or  remove risks to the organisation.

"The potential damage from viruses, spyware, malicious code and rogue applications entering corporate networks through external SSL traffic can be extensive. Our intention is to educate IT managers in SMB and large corporations about this clear and present threat through a traveling seminar series  that will start in Dubai on February 8th , followed by Doha and Kuwait City on February 12th and 13th 2006 respectively," said Ray Kafity, Blue Coat Middle East's General Manager. "As the number of Web applications and the amount of SSL traffic both continue to increase, this problem will be exacerbated.  In addition to the security threat, encrypted traffic makes it difficult for IT managers to assess bandwidth usage and apply intelligent content control policies to ensure maximum user productivity."

Most enterprise SSL traffic comprises business-critical applications now outsourced on the Internet, such as customer relationship management sites, travel booking, human resources/benefits and expense management. While these applications use SSL to protect the confidentiality of data for the enterprise, the encrypted traffic can introduce a critical problem for the enterprise.

"The SSL security hole has been a growing issue in Europe and the United States for some time. Those markets were affected to a great degree due to the outsourced Web applications they utilized for business purposes," said Nigel Hawthorn, Blue Coat VP International Marketing and Channels. "We decided to take the initiative and proactively address this issue in the Middle East to make sure IT managers are fully aware of the extent of the SSL security threat, and we can assist them in taking pre-emptive measure to counter the threat."

Blue Coat's SSL proxy enables organizations to stop malware, including viruses and spyware, from infiltrating their networks through encrypted tunnels. It can deny threats from secured phishing attempts that now utilize SSL explicitly as a cloaking mechanism. It can also govern what encrypted applications the organization will allow to communicate externally. Since much of SSL traffic is business-critical, companies cannot afford any performance degradation due to inspection. Rather than degrade performance, Blue Coat's ProxySG platform actually boosts SSL-encrypted application performance by as much as 10X through the use of its patented object pipelining and caching technology.

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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' most recently filed Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2005, and other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Note:
All trademarks, trade names or service marks used or mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.

About Blue Coat Systems:
Blue Coat helps organizations make the Web safe and productive for business. Blue Coat proxy appliances provide visibility and control of Web communications to protect against risks from spyware, Web viruses, inappropriate Web surfing, instant messaging (IM), video streaming and peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing - while actually improving Web performance. Trusted by many of the world's largest organizations, Blue Coat has shipped more than 25,000 proxy appliances. Blue Coat is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and can be reached at (408) 220-2200 or www.bluecoat.com.

For more information, please contact:
Blue Coat - Dubai Internet City, Cannon building 9, office 313
P.O. Box 72377
Dubai
UAE
Tel: (971-4) 391-1620
FAX: (971-4) 391-1635
E-mail: luqmanmc@eim.ae

© Press Release 2006