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META Group Confirms Proxy Appliances Warranted for Web Control in Most Organizations Traditional Security Strategies Not Enough to Stop User-Initiated Web Threats SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Blue Coat(TM) Systems, Inc. , a leading provider of proxy appliances, today announced that a recently published META Group white paper affirms proxy appliances are a necessity for most organizations, capable of providing granular visibility and control over the appropriateness of user-initiated Web communications and content. META Group is a leading research and consulting firm that focuses on information technology and business transformation strategies. The paper authored by META senior program director of security and risk strategies Mark Bouchard states, "Traditional security strategies have focused on 'network access' and blocking outside threats from entering the internal network. While these measures remain instrumental to providing security for today's networked environments, they are no longer sufficient." The paper, titled "The Growing Security Threat: Your Employees," details the emerging security threats and potential exposure to today's organizations created by unmonitored employee Web use, specifically in the form of user productivity losses, legal liability, and degradation of network availability. The paper also provides technology recommendations for gaining visibility and control of user communications over the Web. "Establishing a security solution to address the appropriateness of content and its usage within electronic communications has quickly become a legitimate business issue, due in part to productivity, liability, and privacy concerns," said META Group's Bouchard. "A separate solution focusedon user and content control, ideally based on an appliance platform and a proxy architecture, will be warranted for most organizations." "Organizations can no longer risk the integrity of their business by allowing employees to run rampant on corporate Web resources," said Steve Mullaney, vice president of marketing for Blue Coat. "Because Web traffic is real-time, only proxy technology running on a high-performance appliance platform, such as Blue Coat's ProxySG(TM), should be deployed to gain granular visibility and control of employee Web use on the network." The META Group white paper "The Growing Security Threat: Your Employees" can be obtained by visiting http://www.bluecoat.com/downloads/whitepapers/security_threat.html . About META Group META Group is a leading provider of information technology research, advisory services, and strategic consulting. Delivering objective and actionable guidance, META Group's experienced analysts and consultants are trusted advisors to IT and business executives around the world. Our unique collaborative models and dedicated customer service help clients be more efficient, effective, and timely in their use of IT to achieve their business goals. Visit metagroup.com for more details on our high-value approach. About Blue Coat Systems Blue Coat enables organizations to keep "good" employees from doing "bad" things on the Internet. Blue Coat wire-speed proxy appliances provide visibility and control of Web communications to address today's new business risks -- such as inappropriate Web surfing, viruses brought in via back door channels such as instant messaging and Web-based email, and network resource abuse due to peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing and video streaming. Trusted by many of the world's most influential organizations, Blue Coat has shipped more than 18,000 proxy appliances. Blue Coat is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and can be reached at 408-220-2200 or http://www.bluecoat.com/. 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. 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-Q for the quarter ended January 31, 2004, andother 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. DATASOURCE: Blue Coat Systems, Inc. CONTACT: Tony Thompson of Blue Coat Systems, Inc., +1-408-220-2305, or ; or Kelly Shall of Schwartz Communications, +1-415-512-0770, or , for Blue Coat Systems, Inc. Web site: http://www.metagroup.com/ Web site: http://www.bluecoat.com/

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