Date: Wed, 21 Oct 92 11:03:12 -0400 From: bx981@CLEVELAND.FREENET.EDU(Larry Schilling) Subject: File 7--XIOX's Anti-Phone-Fraud Products (Press Release) XIOX'S FORT KNOX PRODUCTS COMBAT PHONE FRAUD EXPERIENCED BY U.S. BUSINESSES NEW YORK (OCT. 20) BUSINESS WIRE - Xiox' Fort Knox line of products is aimed directly at reducing the estimated $4 billion of losses to telephone service theft experienced by American businesses each year. And they are the first products that combat telephone "hacking" without requiring businesses to shut off vulnerable PBX features. According to John Hough, noted phone fraud expert and author of "Toll Fraud and Telabuse," business losses from telephone fraud, or "hacking," are estimated at $4 billion per year. Hough, chairman of Telecommunications Advisors Inc. (a Portland, Ore. consulting firm), indicates that the average loss per incident to users exceeds $90,000. Hough's firm estimates that more than 35,000 users will become victims of toll fraud in 1992. Xiox estimates that every business has a one in 18 chance of being hacked. The implications for security, however serious they may be in terms of stolen service costs, become even more formidable when the risk to a company's data is factored in. Many organizations' computer systems are accessible through the telephone lines, and their computer data is only as secure as their phone system. In addition to creating enormous business losses, hackers have forced businesses to shut off valuable and convenient features such as Direct Inward System Access (DISA), Remote System Access, home agent connections and remote diagnostics lines. All these PBX features became access paths to hackers, who re-sell the illegally-obtained services. Businesses experience further "hidden losses" because they can't use the telephone for critical purposes. "Fort Knox products are the most straightforward and economical approach I've seen to enable users to keep their telephone systems both 'open and secure,'" said Ed Freyermuth, telecom manager for PacTel/Meridien Systems. One of the Fort Knox products, Hacker Tracker, gives users the ability to track and trap hackers, opening up the possibility of apprehending them. "Hackers have proliferated over the past ten years, possibly because of their connection to the illegal drug trade," said Wanda Gamble-Braggs, manager of Systems Integrity, Western Division of MCI. "Unlike most crimes, they leave no evidence and are at little risk of being caught. The approach to security taken by the Xiox system is the first one that MCI has seen that gives the user some hope of catching the criminal instead of becoming the next victim." The Fort Knox family of anti-hacker products includes: -- Hacker Preventer, an automated, intelligent system that senses deviation from "normal" telephone usage and cuts off access to hacking attempts. It incorporates proprietary hardware- and software-based technology which attaches to the user's PBX. Price: $10,000 to $28,000, depending on the size of the system needing protection. -- Hacker Tracker is a specialized recording and reporting system incorporating proprietary software for tracking and trapping hackers. Price: $2,195. -- Hacker Deadbolt is a proprietary hardware and software system providing protection for remote maintenance and testing ports of a PBX, voice mail system and other telephone equipment on the customer's premises. It can be upgraded to become Hacker Preventer. Price: $1,295. These products may be purchased separately or together. When installed, the Xiox Fort Knox products become an intelligent agent for monitoring all telecommunications traffic in and out of a system. "At Solectron, we've analyzed the risk of being hacked," commented Dave Tichener, telecom manager for Solectron Inc. "The Fort Knox system represents a very reasonably-priced insurance policy, compared to the potential loss." All Fort Knox anti-hacker products are immediately available. CONTACT: Xiox Corp. Michael O'Connell, 415/375-8188, ext. 228 or Oak Ridge Public Relations, Cupertino, Calif. Ford Kanzler, 408/253-5042 ------------------------------ Downloaded From P-80 International Information Systems 304-744-2253