Internet Security Advisors Group Gives High Marks to DataDirect Technologies for Data Access Security Features

DataDirect Technologies, the unparalleled leader in data connectivity and mainframe integration and an operating company of Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS), today announced that the Internet Security Advisory Group (ISAG) has heralded its DataDirect Connect® database drivers and data providers as one of the best proactive security measures an organization can take to reduce security related losses. According to the independent research assessment, "DataDirect Connect: Data Access Middleware Security Simplifies Business Process Applications,” organizations are strongly encouraged to consider data connectivity components from DataDirect Technologies during the design stage of application development. ISAG is an international information security firm and world leader in the performance of security services such as vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, policy development, product implementation and security architecture development and review. ISAG founder and highly regarded corporate and computer security expert, Ira Winkler reviewed the architecture and functionality of DataDirect Technologies’ standards-based data access components. The DataDirect Connect products provide reliable, high performance access to a wide range of relational databases through standard ODBC, JDBC™ and ADO.NET interfaces and incorporate a variety of security features to help organizations implement security policies to protect information assets and comply with regulatory requirements. Inferior database connectivity can put mission-critical applications and data at risk, creating potential security threats. To adequately protect information assets, each component of the application infrastructure must be secure – including the data access components of the application stack. For this reason, DataDirect Technologies integrated Kerberos Authentication and Secure Socket Layer (SSL) data encryption with its line of premium database drivers and data providers. ISAG commends DataDirect for proactively providing its customers with security functionality, instead of forcing customers to purchase additional products or face development risks due to a reliance on other options. "Security factors are not only a technical consideration but a critical business enabler,” said Ira Winkler, ISAG founder and computer security expert. "As Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), Web 2.0 and other data and application frameworks are implemented, security must be a fundamental design concern. Organizations that use DataDirect Connect to develop their distributed applications simplify development and automatically include data encryption and authentication in their applications. This solid security foundation and the well documented benefits of high performance and interoperable data access is why ISAG strongly recommends that organizations consider DataDirect for their database access middleware needs.” The DataDirect Connect product line has been designed to optimize performance and reinforce security. In addition to SSL encryption support and Kerberos, the wire protocol architecture used in DataDirect Connect for ODBC drivers eliminates the need for client libraries, making the data connectivity path faster and more direct. The clientless architecture removes the additional trip that traditional drivers require between the driver and the client libraries – thereby eliminating a point of vulnerability to breaches in security. The same heightened security can be found in DataDirect Connect for ADO.NET data providers, which use 100 percent managed code. Because the ADO.NET providers from DataDirect Technologies run entirely within the Microsoft Common Language Runtime (CLR), they are privy to the .NET Framework automatic services and checks and the enforcement of Code Access Security (CAS) security restrictions. To view the full ISAG report, "DataDirect Connect: Data Access Middleware Security Simplifies Business Process Applications,” visit http://www.datadirect.com/middleware-security-simplifies/index.ssp. For more detailed descriptions of the latest security features included with the DataDirect Connect products and the benefits they provide go to http://www.datadirect.com/products/security/index.ssp. About ISAG The Internet Security Advisors Group (ISAG) is an international information security firm specializing in mass marketing product security offerings through channel partners. Founded in 1997 by Ira Winkler, one of the country's most highly regarded experts in corporate and computer security, the firm is recognized as a world leader in the performance of security services such as vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, policy development, product implementation, and security architecture development and review. For more information, go to www.isag.com. About DataDirect Technologies DataDirect Technologies is the software industry’s only comprehensive provider of software for connecting the world’s most critical business applications to data and services, running on any platform, using proven and emerging standards. Developers worldwide depend on DataDirect® products to connect their applications to an unparalleled range of data sources using standards-based interfaces such as ODBC, JDBC™ and ADO.NET, XQuery and SOAP. More than 300 leading independent software vendors and thousands of enterprises rely on DataDirect Technologies to simplify and streamline data connectivity for distributed systems and to reduce the complexity of mainframe integration. DataDirect Technologies is an operating company of Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ: PRGS). For more information, visit www.datadirect.com. DataDirect and DataDirect Connect are trademarks or registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Java and all Java based marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. Any other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.