Information Systems Security Association Names Cisco 2007 Organization of the Year

SAN JOSE, Calif. - May 19, 2008 - Cisco announced today that it has been selected as the Information Systems Security Association 2007 Outstanding Organization of the Year, in recognition of Cisco's contributions to ISSA and the security profession overall.

ISSA is the largest international professional association for information security specialists. With 10,000 members in 70 countries supported by a network of more than 125 chapters, ISSA professionals are consulted as experts on critical issues in the field and are important resources for small businesses, global enterprises, and government organizations.

"Cisco represents leadership and innovation in the information security industry," said ISSA International President Howard A. Schmidt. "It is with great pleasure that I am able to give this Outstanding Organization of the Year Award to Cisco, on behalf of ISSA members and the international board of directors, in recognition of its continued leadership in the industry and the information security profession."

"Cisco is delighted to be chosen for this award," said Marie Hattar, vice president of network systems and security solutions at Cisco. "This acknowledgment comes at a time when Cisco is extending its security solution strategy from a network-centric approach to one that extends deeper into endpoints, content, applications and security management. As a leader in the market, Cisco is poised to continue innovating and advancing security technologies that address business security challenges, and benefit the industry on a broad scale."

In April, Cisco announced a new chapter in its Self-Defending Network strategy. As security threats increasingly target user behaviors to breach corporate data and information, the company is evolving its solution strategy beyond network security. This expanded strategy incorporates a best-of-breed security portfolio into a systems approach that strengthens the overall protection of networks as well as the increasingly diverse number of endpoints, applications, and types of content that traverse them. Cisco has announced several security portfolio additions and enhancements that supported this direction such as updates to its Cisco® Security Agent, intrusion prevention, network and application-based firewalls, and centralized analysis and management offerings. View news announcement here: http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2008/prod_040808c.html.