PRESS RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO, CA —May 27, 2010 – Forty-seven percent of IT security professionals believe that security audit costs will increase in 2010, according to a recent survey by nCircle, the leading provider of automated security and compliance auditing solutions.

The online survey of over 250 security professionals was conducted between February 4 and March 12, 2010, and covered a range of security topics including smartphones, healthcare, cloud computing and social media.

Key findings include:

* 45% of respondents anticipate no change in 2010 security audit costs * 8% expect a decrease in security audit costs in 2010 * 45% experienced increased security audit costs and only 6% saw a decrease from 2008 to 2009 * 83% of respondents report they are effectively identifying security and compliance issues prior to an audit

“The increasing complexity of regulatory requirements continues to be a key cost driver for many companies’ compliance initiatives,” said Elizabeth Ireland, Vice President of Strategy for nCircle. “It is interesting to note that, while a significant percentage of companies believe they are identifying security and compliance issues prior to beginning an audit, organizations are not yet realizing the cost savings that can come from process maturity.”

Added Ireland: “Unless companies have a strategy that automates the continuous monitoring required for various regulations and can report on it to suit the requirements of a specific audit, the process remains very resource intensive and costly. There is definitely an opportunity for cost reduction here for the majority of organizations.”

About nCircle nCircle is the leading provider of automated IT security and compliance auditing solutions. More than 4,500 enterprises, government agencies and service providers around the world rely on nCircle's proactive solutions to manage and reduce security risk and achieve compliance on their networks. nCircle has won numerous awards for growth, innovation, customer satisfaction and technology leadership. nCircle is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, with regional offices throughout the United States and in London and Toronto. Additional information about nCircle is available at www.ncircle.com.