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Security Innovation releases powerful testing tool that allows novice
software testers to expose elusive security and stability bugs

Innovative tool makes hard-to-simulate error conditions a cinch and enables software testers to find numerous defects that currently make it past quality assurance practices

Melbourne, FL, August 22, 2004.
Security Innovation, experts in application security testing, continues to revolutionize the application testing process and help companies deliver more stable and secure software. Holodeck 2.5, the most advanced fault-injection testing tool commercially available, was released this month with great promise to software testers that need an easier and more robust tool to find previously undetectable bugs. 

“The application testing process in use by most organizations today has significant and costly holes,” says Dr. James Whittaker, founder of Security Innovation and renowned expert on software security. “Tens of thousands of stability and security bugs make it past current QA practices and into shipped software. Without a tool such as Holodeck that can simulate hostile environments, testers are working with blinders on – testing only through the user interface and leaving the rest to chance. Holodeck solves that problem by delivering state-of-the-art fault injection into the hands of anyone who needs to test software.” 

Previously, to perform effective security and stability testing, testers had to possess in-depth knowledge of Windows and other system API calls. Unfortunately, many testers lack this technical knowledge. Without knowing what files an application is requesting or system components it is using, testers are reaching only a small percentage of the actual application behavior and critical bugs go undetected. Holodeck addresses this challenge by monitoring and logging all low-level application and system calls so that testers can witness behind-the-scenes application activity and refer to Holodeck's reports for possible security vulnerabilities and troubleshooting. Now, testers can test their applications under stressed conditions with just a few mouse clicks. Prashant Singh, Software Design Engineer at Microsoft, is a beneficiary of this new capability and states, “Holodeck is an indispensable testing tool for me. It provides unmatched control over an application's environment; creating even the most difficult testing conditions is as simple as selecting a few menu options. Such control, coupled with the automatic test generation capability and full extensibility for custom libraries, makes it a must-have tool for all testers.”

“Our customers, particularly large software vendors, use Holodeck as part of their ongoing initiative to reduce security vulnerabilities and improve overall application quality. This release makes Holodeck easier to use for the novice user and augments the functionality of the tool for our higher end, advanced customers. In fact, we've made it easier for everyone to reap the rewards of using good software testing practices, like fault-injection, as part of their regular QA cycle,” says Edward Adams, CEO of Security Innovation. 

About Security Innovation
Security Innovation, Inc. is the leader in application security testing. Using innovative methodology and proprietary technology, Security Innovation has been identifying application security risks for top software vendors and U.S. Government agencies since its inception. Security Innovation was founded by a recognized authority in software security and is managed by industry veterans and experts that came from companies like Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, Harris Corporation and IBM. More than 60% of the company's staff holds advanced degrees in computer science with 30% at the PhD level. The company has published several software security books, including the best-selling “How to Break Software Security” and hundreds of industry journal articles. The company is headquartered in Melbourne, FL and has offices in Boston, MA and Bozeman, MT. For more information about Security Innovation, visit www.securityinnovation.com or call 321-308-0557.

Contacts:
Jason Morris/Jane Cullina
Schwartz Communications, Inc.
(781) 684-0770
sisecure@schwartz-pr.com

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