Contact:  Piper Conrad
On Behalf of Secure Elements
Phone: (703) 287-7820
e-mail: pconrad@speakerboxpr.com

Secure Elements Partners with HP to Offer NIST SCAP Validated Solutions to the U.S. Federal Government
Alliance brings together HPs Federal Consulting and Integration team with Secure Elements to deliver a full solution for OMB Federal Desktop Core Configuration compliance monitoring and reporting

HERNDON, VA - Feb 19, 2008 - Secure Elements, the industry leader in standards-based IT audit and compliance management, today announced it is working with HP to provide customers with a one-stop shop for enterprise-level NIST SCAP Validated security compliance solutions.

Under the terms of an agreement between the companies, Secure Elements and HP will provide total NIST SCAP validated solutions to more efficiently enable government agencies to continuously monitor and report their desktop configurations in support of recent U.S. Office of Management and Budget mandates.  The solutions provide an integrated offering to include hardware, software, services, and support.

The alliance is the first of its kind in support of the OMB mandate for secure desktop configurations and the Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC). There is a key deadline to meet: the next phase of the OMB mandate requires government agencies to submit their FDCC system audit results to NIST for statistical analysis and review by March 31, 2008. 

The solutions from Secure Elements and HP will address several major concerns for agencies implementing security compliance and FISMA automation initiatives:

• The companies compliance monitoring solution is available immediately - as an outsourced service or as an internally managed solution
• The solution utilizes people and processes, not just technologies. The depth and breadth of HPs consulting and integration expertise is available to provide a full solution that includes implementation, support, training and business process alignment
• The solution takes into consideration the unique policy issues that go beyond the OMB mandate. Now there is outsourced support for activities such as benchmark adaptation in support of an agencys specific polices, security posture analysis and vulnerability program management

HP provides agencies with the IT security consulting, systems integration and rapid technology implementation needed to deploy these solutions across an enterprise.

"HP is enthusiastic about this partnership that provides us with an unparallel opportunity to meet the total security compliance requirements of our valued customers. Together we can not only offer the best technical solution but also top quality professional services to assess, implement, and monitor ongoing compliance requirements across the entire enterprise," said Mike Freeman, Vice President of Federal Consulting and Integration (C&I) for HP.

"This expansion of our alliance with HP is a milestone in the evolution of the federal security automation initiative, bringing the leading enterprise-class NIST SCAP Validated vendor together with the leading provider of standards-based solutions and desktop services to the federal marketplace," said Ned Miller, Chief Executive Officer at Secure Elements.  "The world-class consulting and integration team from HP will provide assurance to our customers they have the best services to support a full solution in partnership with the agencies for securing their networks."

About Secure Elements
Secure Elements develops innovative products that help organizations achieve IT security compliance.  We enable organizations to audit, evaluate, and comply with internal, industry, and regulatory policies.  Our solutions reduce business risk and IT management costs while improving systems performance and maintaining business continuity.  Based in Northern Virginia, Secure Elements serves organizations in the federal government and critical infrastructure markets, as well as the Global 1000.  http://www.secure-elements.com