ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 13, 2005-- Combined Solution Simulates Users, Traffic, and Threats for End-to-End Testing of Enterprise Security Devices and Applications

Spirent(R) Communications (NYSE:SPM) (LSE:SPT), a worldwide provider of integrated performance analysis and service assurance systems for next-generation network technologies, and Imperfect Networks today announced a product partnership that will enable enterprises to test the performance and operation of security infrastructures under extreme load, using up to the minute threat profiles. The combination of Spirent's Avalanche and Imperfect Networks' ThreatEx will help ensure that enterprise security will perform as it should, even under the very worst circumstances.

The challenge facing today's IT managers is addressing the need to test new network systems, devices and infrastructures prior to deployment. IT managers are often forced to develop systems and deploy added layers of security without the luxury of testing them. Even with the right security tools in place, corporations must still test their solution or run the risk of a security breach, which could result in unnecessary downtime, damage to the corporate brand and the loss of private company data. Enterprises struggle to perform effective evaluations of security devices such as Intrusion Detection (IDS) and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) and Firewalls before and after deployment. Security testing must be treated as an ongoing practice to insure protection against the most recent threats.

Imperfect Networks' ThreatEx technology verifies that IDS and IPS capabilities are able to defend against known and unknown attacks using signatures of current and previous attack profiles. Combined with Spirent's Avalanche, IDS/IPS can be tested to ensure they stop attacks while allowing real-user traffic through without impacting performance.

Spirent's Avalanche provides engineers with the ability to generate all protocols a typical Enterprise encounters including web, mail, voice, and streaming. Avalanche can generate over 2 gigabytes of real-world traffic to test even the largest security devices. Since Enterprises frequently do not have the resources or expertise to perform this testing, Spirent's professional services offerings include IDS/IPS & Firewall evaluations, and periodic security testing.

Because we know security is a moving target, we can deliver testing products and services that help Enterprises protect, buy, build, and monitor their defenses against even the most recent attacks, said Alan Newman, director of marketing -- Enterprise Marketing and Avalanche Product Line, Spirent Communications. "This partnership provides wide-ranging customer benefits to the enterprise market."

The ThreatEx product line generates real attacks to test the vulnerabilities of networks and devices. The ThreatEx product line includes the ThreatEx Appliance to generate attacks; the ThreatEx Designer which allows users to develop new attacks and variants of existing threats and the ThreatEx Knowledge Base, a web-based subscription service that hosts a continuously updated library of known attacks.

The combination of Avalanche, ThreatEx and Spirent's professional services is a complete solution for protecting the enterprise against known and unknown attacks. Through this combination, customers can quickly discover and eradicate a complete range of threats, attacks and vulnerabilities, said Andrew Copeland, President of Imperfect Networks.

About Imperfect Networks

Imperfect Networks ThreatEx product line creates and executes negative tests on network equipment -- attacks, threats, protocol faults, or any combination of these. The company was founded in 2003 and has development facilities in Burlington and Holyoke, Mass. Spirent is the exclusive, worldwide distributor for Imperfect Networks' ThreatEx products.

About Spirent Communications

Spirent Communications (www.spirentcom.com) is a global provider of integrated performance analysis and service assurance systems that enable the development and deployment of next-generation networking technology such as Internet Telephony, broadband services, 3G wireless, global navigation satellite systems, and network security equipment. Spirent's solutions are used by more than 1,500 customers in 30 countries, including the world's largest equipment manufacturers, service providers, enterprises and governments. Maryland, Spirent Communications reported 2004 revenue of $460 million and has 1,700 employees worldwide. The company is the largest business group of Spirent plc, traded on the London and New York Stock Exchanges (LSE: SPT; NYSE: SPM; CUSIP number: 84856M209). www.spirent.com. Spirent Communications' sales to the United States government are made through Spirent Federal Systems. www.spirentfederal.com.

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