Bank of London and the Middle East plc Secures Financial Data With IBM Internet Security Systems

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that the Bank of London and The Middle East plc (BLME), a stand-alone Sharia’a*-compliant investment bank that launched in the UK in July 2007, has selected intrusion prevention technology from IBM’s Internet Security Systems (ISS) division to help reinforce its existing security controls and further protect its customer and corporate data.

BLME uses the IBM Proventia® Network Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) not only to augment its existing firewalls and further secure its networks, but also to help comply with the systems and controls requirements as mandated by the Financial Services Authority, an independent body that regulates the Financial Services industry in the UK. BLME will rely on the reporting capabilities of the Proventia Network IPS solution to demonstrate that effective network security measures are in place. BLME also will benefit from the proactive nature of IBM ISS security, which is designed to protect clients like BLME against the ever-evolving network-based threat landscape.

“Not only did we want a security system that would grow with our needs, but we also required a solution that is proven to manage new threats and vulnerabilities,” said William Purdy, head of Information Technology at BLME. “As a newly formed company in the UK, the security of our systems is important for the foundation of our business, so we can’t afford to have security threats impeding our progress. With IBM ISS we are confident this won’t happen.”

“Organizations such as BLME cannot afford to take chances with their network security,” said Andrew Lawton, director, IBM Internet Security Systems. “BLME has demonstrated that choosing the right security solution helps reduce the burden on its IT resources and prevent security breaches. BLME also benefits from having a security platform in place that can meet its demands as its security needs change.”

Pentura Ltd, an IBM ISS gold solutions partner, helped BLME in developing the solution based on the pro-active nature of IBM ISS security. IBM ISS’ pre-emptive approach is designed to protect organizations from software vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by online attackers, instead of waiting until an attack materializes to develop a fix.

The Proventia Network IPS stops internet threats before they impact an organization and delivers protection to all three layers of the network: core, perimeter and remote segments, offering high throughput, low latency and quick uptime to help ensure networks run efficiently and safely.

Unlike competitive IPS offerings, IBM ISS Proventia products are part of a unified security platform. Through its Proventia protection platform, IBM ISS provides multi-layered protection for BLME from network to host. By infusing its products with security intelligence from the IBM X-Force® research and development team and its unique IBM Virtual Patch® technology, IBM ISS solutions are designed to protect BLME and other organizations before their business assets are impacted by online intrusions.

The agreement announced today was signed in July of 2007.

About BLME

The Bank of London and The Middle East plc (BLME) launched in the UK on 9 July 2007, having received FSA authorisation to launch as a standalone, wholesale, Sharia’a-compliant bank based in the City of London. BLME is focused on four main business lines: Islamic Treasury and Financial Institutions, Corporate Banking, Private Banking and Investment Management, Investment Banking. To ensure that all BLME’s services and operations are wholly Sharia’a compliant, BLME has a dedicated Sharia’a Supervisory Board whose role is to review contracts and agreements relating to all of BLME’s transactions to ensure they are consistent with the principles of Islamic jurisprudence.

About IBM:

For more information about IBM, please visit www.ibm.com.

Internet Security Systems is a trademark and Proventia and X-Force are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. All other companies and products mentioned are trademarks and property of their respective owners.

* Sharia’a is a system of laws, customs, and norms governing Muslims’ political, economic, and social relations. Sharia’a makes no distinction between public and private life, treating all aspects of human relations as governable by God’s law.