Secunia joins the Microsoft Technology Center Program as the First Vulnerability Security Alliance Partner

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, July 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Secunia, a leading provider of IT security solutions that enable businesses and private individuals to manage and control vulnerability threats, has joined the Microsoft Technology Center Alliance Program.  The Microsoft Technology Centers (MTCs) are collaborative environments that provide access to innovative technologies and world-class expertise, enabling customers to envision, design and deploy solutions to meet their exact needs.

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By introducing Secunia's technology to the thousands of businesses visiting the Microsoft Technology Centers around the world, Microsoft is demonstrating to System Center customers how to effectively protect IT infrastructures from vulnerabilities in third-party applications in a streamlined, one-console approach to third-party patching.

Secunia's comprehensive vulnerability intelligence and patch management solution, the Secunia Corporate Software Inspector (Secunia CSI 6.0) integrates seamlessly with System Center 2012 Configuration Manager. It enables System Center customers to easily deploy non-Microsoft ("third-party") patches, and allows users to use the devices and applications they need to be productive, while maintaining corporate compliance and control.

"The Microsoft Technology Center only partners with industry leaders and we are very pleased to be invited to join their Alliance Program. Secunia is already a member of the Microsoft System Center Alliance program, and we listen carefully to the Microsoft community – the System Center customers and MVPs (most valuable professionals) – when we develop the product features and plugins that facilitate integration with Microsoft's offerings," says Secunia CEO Peter Colsted.

Patching Non-Microsoft programs is essential to corporate security
Vulnerabilities are the root cause of security issues – vulnerable software that is left unpatched is the main entry point for hackers and their malware – and one vulnerability is all it takes for a company's security to be breached.
With non-Microsoft programs being responsible for the presence of 86% of the 1,137 vulnerabilities discovered in the Top 50 programs on private PCs in 2012 (according to the Secunia Vulnerability Review 2013); there is no question that non-Microsoft vulnerabilities are a serious threat to IT infrastructures.

Microsoft focuses on security and allocates extensive resources to remediating vulnerabilities and continuously provides security patches for users of Microsoft products. But no organization relies exclusively on Microsoft products for their day-to-day operations and, therefore, organizations cannot rely solely on Microsoft's automatic updates to protect their systems from vulnerabilities. Most PCs – private and professional – have programs like Adobe and Java on them, and these are riddled with vulnerabilities.

"With System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, our customers can empower employee productivity on a wide range of devices while maintaining compliance and working to protect company data," said Andrew Conway, Director Product Marketing, Microsoft.  "With Secunia CSI 6.0 and System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, our joint customers can streamline patch management processes and protect both Microsoft and non-Microsoft applications from vulnerabilities."

Secunia's solutions integrate with System Center:
Secunia's integration with System Center began in 2010: The Secunia CSI 4.1 integrated with Windows Server Update Services and System Center Configuration Manager to allow users to easily deploy non-Microsoft patches. With the launch of the Secunia CSI 6.0 in August 2012, Secunia removed the dependency and need to deploy an additional Secunia CSI agent in the network, enabling customers to use the System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Software Inventory agent to do the scanning.
Then, in November 2012 with the launch of the "Secunia System Center 2012 plug-in", Secunia delivered a solution that provided unique benefits to System Center 2012 Configuration Manager users:

• A one-console approach, enabling users to control their patch management from any machine that has the plug-in installed together with Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager. This means increased flexibility for IT and Security teams.
• A Dynamic Update Catalogue which provides security patches out-of-the-box. These patches are specifically relevant for the infrastructure of the organization. This relevance is possible because the patches are based on the results of the scan that the Secunia CSI performs, which tells Secunia what particular programs and systems are relevant to patch for the organization in question.  

About Secunia
Founded in 2002, Secunia is a leading provider of IT security solutions that help businesses and private individuals globally manage and control vulnerability threats, risks across their networks, and end-points. This is enabled by Secunia's award-winning Vulnerability Intelligence, Vulnerability Assessment, and Patch Management solutions that ensure optimal and cost-effective protection of critical information assets.
Secunia plays an important role in the IT security ecosystem, and is the preferred supplier for enterprises and government agencies worldwide, counting Fortune 500 and Global 2000 businesses among its customer base. Secunia is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark.

For more information, please visit secunia.com

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SOURCE Secunia