VASCO aXs Guard Gatekeeper survey reveals major Internet threats during the summer period

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. and ZURICH, Switzerland, Sept 04, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- VASCO Data Security International, Inc.
(Nasdaq: VDSI) (http://www.vasco.com), a leading software security company
specializing in authentication products, today announces the results of its
aXs Guard Gatekeeper Internet Threat Survey. VASCO surveyed 400 small and
medium sized enterprises with 5 to 250 internet users during the month of July
2008, revealing malicious activity during the traditional European holiday
season. aXs Guard Gatekeeper is an authentication and internet security
appliance, making use of VASCO's core authentication technology.

The results of July 2008 are weighed against May 2008 and the major trends
reveal to be:

    -- During the summer more different types of viruses are active
    -- Spammers seem to be on holidays
    -- Internet surfing is on the rise
    -- Slight decrease in spyware
    -- Slight increase of phishing attempts

During the month of July 2008 we see that the amount of active viruses has
increased with 25%, whereas the number of virus attacks has more than doubled
compared to May 2008. The survey also revealed that newly created viruses
immediately score very high and are among the top 10 most frequent viruses
during that period. The increased presence of viruses could be explained by
less vigilance due to reduced staffing of ICT departments during the holiday
season. We can conclude that in order to battle this trend, automated
solutions, such as aXs Guard Gatekeeper, are necessary to maintain the same
level of vigilance throughout the year.

Furthermore, the survey reveals that spammers are also on vacation. We
see a decrease of 25% in spam blocked by the aXs GUARD spam filter, combined
with an increase of detected spam robots and blacklisted clients. We see an
increase in detected spam robots and blacklisted client because due to holiday
season spammers continue to use their 'old' spam bots and ip-adresses, which
can more easily be detected and stopped by the aXs GUARD Gatekeeper
blacklists.

People also seem to have more time on their hands. This was detected from
an increase in surfing behaviour in July 2008 compared to May 2008. In
regards to predefined blacklisted websites, such as porn, gambling and violent
content, we see a slight increase in surfers trying to visit this type of
content during the month of July 2008. However, we see a decrease in attempts
to visit websites which companies block on a company to company basis, such as
YouTube, Facebook and others. Once employees have figured out that certain
websites are blocked as a result of company policy, they no longer try to
visit these sites.

A positive development is that people seem to become more aware of the
damage which can be done by spyware. In July 2008 the blocked spyware
attempts dropped with 5% compared to May 2008. However we also noted a small
increase in phishing attempts. Phishing asks for increased security measure
when making financial transactions online. VASCO offers a whole array of
products to protect financial transactions from being intercepted by phishers.

aXs GUARD Gatekeeper is an all-in-1 solution (24 different applications in
one) for Internet communications and security. aXs GUARD Gatekeeper consists
of different modules, including Digipass strong user authentication, VPN,
firewall, anti-virus, hacker detection, statistics & reporting, content
scanning and more. Situated between a company's LAN and the Internet, aXs
GUARD Gatekeeper exists of a mix of hardware, software and support. The
product is completely customizable, making it an affordable solution to SMEs
and large organizations. aXs GUARD centrally manages and secures surfing,
e-mail, VPN connections between subsidiaries and remote access for home
workers, website hosting, etc., while protecting against viruses and other
internet risks.

According to Jan Valcke, President and COO at VASCO Data Security:
"Surveys such as our aXs Guard gatekeeper survey are necessary to demonstrate
the vulnerability of companies on the internet. Surveys as these clearly
indicate that all companies, including SMEs, are vulnerable for internet
fraud. Holiday periods can be potentially dangerous considering certain
companies are less vigilant. However, our sample demonstrates that SMEs
increasingly are investing in protecting themselves from online attacks. We
could not stress more the importance of automated solutions which ensure
companies to have the same level of vigilance throughout the year."

About VASCO:

VASCO is the number one supplier of strong authentication and e-signature
solutions and services. VASCO has established itself as the world's leading
software company specialized in Internet Security, with a customer base of
over 7,600 companies in more than 100 countries, including more than 1,150
international financial institutions. VASCO's prime markets are the financial
sector, enterprise security, e-commerce and e-government.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements made in this news release that relate to future plans, events
or performances are forward-looking statements. Any statement containing
words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," and similar
words, is forward-looking, and these statements involve risks and
uncertainties and are based on current expectations. Consequently, actual
results could differ materially from the expectations expressed in these
forward-looking statements.

Reference is made to the Company's public filings with the US Securities
and Exchange Commission for further information regarding the Company and its
operations.

For more information contact:

Jochem Binst, +32 2 609 97 00, jbinst@vasco.com

SOURCE VASCO

http://www.vasco.com

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