AirTight Networks Begins to Notify Competitors of Recently Awarded Patent

AirTight refutes AirDefense mis-characterizations of both companys’ patents

Mountain View, CA - April 4, 2006 - AirTight® Networks, the leading provider of wireless perimeter security solutions, today announced that it has started the process of notifying its competitors regarding US Patent Number 7,002,943, granted on February 21, 2006. This patent granted to AirTight by the US PTO (Patent and Trademarks Office) covers the key technologies required to build an effective WIPS (wireless intrusion prevention system). The patented techniques enable several important benefits such as:
 

•  Security exposure analysis,
•  A low rate of false alarms,
•  Robust prevention of wireless attacks, and
•  Accurate location tracking of threat posing devices 

Since AirTight Networks believes that any vendor attempting to build an effective WIPS may fall within the ambit of the claimed technologies it has patented, AirTight Networks has commenced a dialogue with its key competitors about this patent.  
 
“Techniques required to build an effective WIPS solution are different from those used in wired IDS/IPS or wireless IDS systems. It is not surprising that early movers in the WIDS market -- who lacked this foresight - are now facing problems of security coverage holes, excessive false alarms, ineffective threat prevention and inaccurate location,” said Pravin Bhagwat, CTO of AirTight Networks. “AirTight’s technology is seminal because it provides the first truly effective IPS solution from a wireless perspective”.
 
“AirTight Networks was misquoted in some previous press coverage on this patent situation,” said Dennis Tsu, Vice President of Marketing for AirTight Networks. “While some of our competitors may not have violated our patent in their earlier WIDS solutions, we do believe that if they attempt to deliver meaningful, effective WIPS functionality that they are likely to fall within the ambit of our recently issued patent.”
 
None of the AirTight Networks’ inventions are described, anticipated, obvious, or alluded to in any of AirDefense’s allowed patent applications. AirTight Networks is confident that it will prevail in the interference proceedings recently initiated by AirDefense.  
 
In parallel, AirTight Networks has examined in depth the three allowed patents of AirDefense and has published an analysis of them, concluding that:
 

• The three AirDefense patent applications that have been allowed were approved solely on the basis of certain extremely restrictive elements, specifically four seemingly impractical and highly disruptive wireless prevention techniques detailed in the published analysis.
•  AirTight Networks does not employ any of the techniques described by AirDefense, and we do not believe any of our competitors do either.
• Due to these restrictive elements, AirDefense's patent applications are extremely narrow in scope and have no practical value. Further, all the three patent applications are centered around the same points of novelty and are hence redundant.
• AirDefense did expedite one of these applications – citing patent infringement by AirMagnet, and not AirTight, as the cause for expedited examination.
• The most recent AirDefense allowed patent application has a major error. AirTight Networks has notified AirDefense of the error so as to prevent its misuse.

 
AirTight Networks’ SpectraGuard Enterprise has established its industry leadership position by delivering these key elements of an effective wireless intrusion prevention system (WIPS) – described in and protected by the patent. As shown in the recently released Tolly Group report, and in the March 2006 Information Security magazine review of WIPS solutions, AirTight’s SpectraGuard Enterprise outperforms its competitors in wireless intrusion prevention functionality.

About AirTight Networks
AirTight Networks is the global leader in wireless security and compliance solutions. AirTight's patented technology protects enterprises from the growing problem of Wi-Fi security threats, while allowing organizations to better manage their WLAN environment and comply with emerging wireless compliance standards (i.e. PCI). The Company's award-winning SpectraGuard wireless intrusion prevention solution (WIPS) family provides enterprise security and compliance professionals with unparalleled capabilities to accurately detect, classify, block and locate all Wi-Fi security threats, while helping network operations staff to quickly monitor and troubleshoot WLAN performance issues. AirTight's pioneering Cloud Services family of cloud-hosted subscription services delivers the world's first and only "No Capex" multitenant WIPS, PCI wireless compliance and controller-less WLAN access solutions all in a single device.

AirTight's award-winning solutions are used by customers globally in the government, financial, retail, hospitality, telecom, technology, manufacturing, transportation, healthcare and education sectors AirTight owns the seminal patents for wireless intrusion prevention technology with 23 U.S. and international patents granted to date (UK, Australia Japan) and more than 20 additional patents pending. AirTight Networks is a privately held company based in Mountain View, CA.

Media Contacts:
Della Lowe
AirTight Networks
Tel: +1 (650) 934 8191
della.lowe@airtightnetworks.com