June 18th, 2007 - Fortinet® - a pioneer and leading provider of unified threat management (UTM) solutions,today announced its membership of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), joining over 70 organisations working to combat potentially illegal online content and prevent access to child sexual abuse ULs on the IWF list. By aligning its award-winning UL filtering technology with the IWF blacklist, Fortinet customers are even better protected from exposure to potentially illegal online content hosted overseas.

"The IWF has achieved significant success in combating the presence and distribution of the worst kind of illegal content online, and ensuring that Internet users in the UK are protected," said Phil Keeling, egional Director, UK, Ireland and South Africa at Fortinet. "This partnership will ultimately further these objectives, and add extra benefits for users that choose Fortinet solutions."

The IWF works with UK government departments such as the Home Office and the Department of Trade and Industry and has compiled an extensive UL list as a result of the reports it processes, which enables the filtering of potentially illegal child sexual abuse web sites. In particular, the partnership holds great significance for Fortinet's growing customer base in the education sector. Keeling explains;

"With millions of dangerous sites available to students every day, blocking potentially illegal content with the right security solution is critical to education establishments. As a member of the IWF, we are also aligning with BECTA (British Educational Communications Technology Agency) requirements, so we can be confident that the vast number of students protected by Fortinet security devices continue to be shielded to the maximum."

The IWF provides the UK's only authorised Internet Hotline, allowing the public to report their inadvertent exposure to potentially illegal online content, and operates a notice and take-down' service for companies hosting potentially illegal content. As a result of these arrangements, less than 1% of potentially illegal child abuse content has been hosted in the UK since 2003, down from 18% in 1997.

Peter obbins, CEO, IWF, said "The IWF relies on the support of its members and works hard to service its diverse membership base of nearly 80 companies and organisations. The success and influence of the IWF relies on our self-regulatory approach in partnership with industry without which we would not have made such significant progress combating online child sexual abuse content. We are very pleased to welcome Fortinet as an associate member and look forward to working with them in the future."