NW_20020508_en_VASCO and Whale Communications Partner to Protect Web-based E-Mail Access

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. and BRUSSELS, Belgium – May 8, 2002 – VASCO Data Security International (Nasdaq NM & Nasdaq Europe:VDSI: www.vasco.com), a global provider of enterprise-wide security products that support e-business, and Whale Communications® (www.whalecommunications.com), a leader in web application security, today announce that they are partnering to enable secure remote email access.

The combination of the two award-winning products – VASCO’s Digipass and Whale’s e-Gap Webmail Appliance – safeguards an enterprise’s core applications while giving access to email from any web browser, anytime, anywhere – be it an Internet kiosk, café, client site or home. Whilst using Whale’s and VASCO’s combined products, any user of web-based email can transmit and access information online.

Enterprises worldwide are using Whale’s e-Gap Webmail System to secure IBM’s Lotus® iNotes™ and Microsoft’s Outlook® Web Access. Digipass adds its armor plated strong authentication to the secure end-to-end e-Gap Webmail Appliance.

“For us, the partnership is important because Whale and VASCO are both committed to giving enterprises the highest level of security while enabling e-Business, and subsequently secure the trust and the value of companies, institutions and individuals who are using web based e-mail” said Jan Valcke, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at VASCO. “Digipass integrates seamlessly into the Webmail Appliance, making it an easy and cost-effective way for companies to use secure web-based email.”

“By offering VASCO’s proven Digipass products with the e-Gap Webmail Appliance, we create secure and strongly authenticated access to Domino and Exchange by supplying application security and authentication methods before allowing users to enter corporate networks,” said Daniel Steiner, President of Whale Communications.

About VASCO
VASCO secures the enterprise from the mainframe to the Internet with infrastructure solutions that enable secure e-business and e-commerce, protect sensitive information, and safeguard the identity of users. The Company's family of Digipass® and VACMAN® products offers end-to-end security through strong authentication, digital signature, network Single Sign-On, and Radius, LAN and Web security, while sharply reducing the time and effort required to deploy and manage security. VASCO's customers include hundreds of financial institutions, blue-chip corporations, and government agencies in more than 50 countries. More information is available at www.vasco.com.
About Whale Communications:
Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Fort Lee, New Jersey, Whale Communications specializes in web application security solutions that enable organizations to deploy secure web-based access to sensitive business applications, significantly reducing project deployment cycles and costs. Privately held, Whale is funded by prominent venture firms and industry leaders, including Goldman Sachs, Network Associates, Inc., Soros Private Equity Partners and the BRM Group, the founding investor of Check Point Software Technologies. Whale Communications, e-Gap, Whale and the Whale logo are trademarks of Whale Communications Ltd. All other trademarks are property of their respective holders. More information is available at www.whalecommunications.com

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:

VASCO:
Media:
Jochem Binst, +32 2 456 9810, [email protected]
Investor Relations:
Annemieke Blondeel, USA +1 630 932 8844, Europe +44 20 8298 99 60, [email protected]

Whale Contact:
Cheral Druck
Tel. +972-54-262-134
[email protected]