Blue Coat Joins Internet Watch Foundation
SUNNYVALE, Calif., February 21, 2006 – Blue Coat® Systems (NASDAQ: BCSI), the leader in secure content and application delivery, today announced that its ProxySGTM appliance family now can block Web sites contained in the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) list of child abuse sites-often referred to as child pornography. Blue Coat has joined the IWF as a funding member.
By utilizing the IWF database, Blue Coat can prevent users and networks from exposure to child pornography and the legal consequences of storing such material. The IWF list is available immediately to ProxySG users worldwide.
“Blue Coat is committed to making the Internet good for business and a safe place for users,” said Steve Mullaney, vice president of marketing, Blue Coat Systems. “We are pleased to support the IWF’s work and enable our customers to block according to the IWF list of child abuse Web sites.”
The IWF list contains Web sites that have been assessed by the organization and confirmed to contain indecent images of children that would be illegal to view, transmit or store in many countries. Full details on the definition of the content included in the IWF database is available on its Web site at www.iwf.org.uk
Through its hotline reporting system involving more than 20 countries, the IWF helps ISPs combat abuse of their services by operating a ‘notice and take down’ service which alerts ISPs to child abuse content found on their system. Content hosted in any of the countries included in the hotline reporting system is added to the IWF list so that users in participating countries are unable to access this material.
The IWF is an independent “not-for-profit” organization that works in partnership with the UK government and ISPs to develop policies, projects and initiatives as well as practical mechanisms and procedures designed to prevent the availability of illegal online content.
“The IWF is in part funded by the EU, but we also work closely with the Internet industry whose financial support helps to ensure the work of the IWF can continue and develop,” said Peter Robbins, chief executive officer, IWF. “We are therefore delighted to welcome Blue Coat as a new funding member and look forward to working more closely with them in the future.”
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.