Released on = May 29, 2006, 5:06 am

Press Release Author = Tamara Borg

Industry = Software

Press Release Summary = Dramatic rise in web application hacks dents online
purchasing confidence and causes irreversible damage to businesses

Press Release Body = London, UK - 29 May, 2006 - Web hacking attacks reported
recently in the media have cost companies millions of dollars in fines, compensation
and damage control measures. In a recent security workshop Acunetix CEO, Nick Galea,
launched an appeal to companies with an online presence to improve and enforce web
application security auditing.

The Cost of Hack Attacks

Consumer data broker ChoicePoint, Inc. had to pay $10 million in civil penalties and
$5 million in consumer redress to settle Federal Trade Commission charges after it
acknowledged that the personal financial records of more than 163,000 consumers in
its database had been compromised in 2005.

ZDNET recently reported that more than 4,000 UK MasterCard holders may have been
affected by a security breach that occurred after hackers gained access to credit
card details through a UK-based online retailer. Thousands of cards had to be
cancelled and re-issued as a result, as well as MasterCard issuers having to call up
all customers whose details had been compromised.

Similarly, last month, a San Diego man was charged with hacking into USC admissions
Web site and accessing more than 270,000 applications containing sensitive
information such as birth dates, addresses and Social Security numbers. USC spent
more than $140,000 to notify affected students and also shut down the applications
Web site for 10 days. The hack was made via a SQL injection attack.

Attacks on the Increase

Galea revealed worrying statistics: "In a paper presented at the JavaOne conference
last year, Cisco security architect Martin Nystrom claimed that as many as 95% of
web applications have serious flaws, 80% of which are being vulnerable to cross-site
scripting attacks", reported Galea. Attacked sites include the famous open-source
repository Sourceforge.net and the popular MySpace.com social network.

Acunetix provides free audit to help companies determine risk level of their website

Enterprises would like to have their website security checked can register for a
free audit by visiting www.acunetix.com/security-audit. Participating enterprises
will receive a summary audit report showing whether their website is secure or not.
Summary reports will be delivered within five business days of submission.

About Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner

Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner ensures website security by automatically
checking for SQL injection, Cross site scripting and other vulnerabilities. It
checks password strength on authentication pages and automatically audits shopping
carts, forms, dynamic content and other web applications. As the scan is being
completed, the software produces detailed reports that pinpoint where
vulnerabilities exist.

About Acunetix

Acunetix was founded to combat the alarming rise in web attacks. Its flagship
product, Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner, is the result of several years of
development by a team of highly experienced security developers. Acunetix is a
privately held company with headquarters based in Europe (Malta), a US office in
Seattle, Washington and an office in London, UK. For more information about Acunetix
visit: http://www.acunetix.com.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Web Site = http://www.acunetix.com

Contact Details = For more information:
Please email Tamara Borg: tamara@acunetix.com
Acunetix Ltd: Tel: (+44) 0845 6126712; Fax: (+44) 0845 6126716.
URL: http://www.acunetix.com.
Level 11, Portomaso Tower
Portomaso, Malta.