SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- WhiteHat Security, the leading provider of website risk management solutions, today announced record growth in multiple areas heading into 2010. In 2009, the recognized industry leader and driving force in operationalizing website security experienced a 75 percent increase in new bookings, record annual revenues and has more than 1,500 sites under WhiteHat Sentinel management including the most recognizable brands on the Web. The Company also extended the WhiteHat Sentinel suite and added a vice president of channel sales to the executive team.

Throughout 2009, the website security landscape continued to evolve and threats increased, with companies quickly realizing that website risk management is a must have and not a luxury. WhiteHat's continued growth and customer adoption validates the real need for effective and comprehensive website risk management solutions across all industries.

Product Expansion to Meet an Evolving Market

The expansion of WhiteHat Sentinel's family of products reflected the Company's understanding of evolving customer needs for website security solutions, including different levels of security based on business criticality. Now, WhiteHat offers three levels of service, including the new Baseline Edition, introduced in April 2009, to cost-effectively address an organization's website security requirements and business goals.

Additionally, there were a number of Open XML API integrations with products such as Imperva SecureSphere Web application firewall, Fortify-on-Demand, Sourcefire Snort intrusion prevention system and Archer Technologies SmartSuite, which offer customers the flexibility to mitigate and/or remediate vulnerabilities found by WhiteHat Sentinel as well as integrate website vulnerability data into company operations.

WhiteHat customer support developed new offerings as well with the addition of the Support Plus program. Now, WhiteHat's superior customer support is available at a variety of levels to ensure that customers are leveraging all the website security information delivered by Sentinel. WhiteHat also launched a website security certification program which provides customers with a distinctive and formal trademark for their website to demonstrate it employs WhiteHat Sentinel to test for the latest vulnerabilities.

"As we begin 2010, we are proud of our achievements which demonstrate that companies now recognize website security as a business priority," said Stephanie Fohn, chief executive officer, WhiteHat Security. "We will continue to drive innovation in our industry to deliver solutions that enable our customers to make their business operations immune to website threats."

With Growth Comes More Robust Partner and Channel Programs

In 2009, there was a significant focus placed on partner activities, which drove the appointment of Robert Cariddi as the vice president of channel sales. Newly forged relationships with companies such as Verizon, which deploys Sentinel to power its new Application Vulnerability Scanning service, Fortify Software, Imperva and RKON, validated Sentinel as the go-to platform for scalable, website vulnerability management. Channel sales, bolstered by key partners across geographies and vertical markets, grew to 40 percent in the first year of this effort. WhiteHat's channel program will continue to remain a top priority for 2010 with Cariddi now at the helm.

"WhiteHat has always been on the forefront of the website security market which is precisely why we chose to partner with them," said Jeff Laurinaitis, director of business development, RKON, Inc., a trusted information technology advisor and solutions provider. "This partnership allows us to offer customers holistic visibility into their website security, which is the fundamental building block for increasing their security posture to meet the abundance and severity of Web attacks."

All of WhiteHat's hard work and successes were acknowledged by numerous industry awards and accolades, including being named a "Cool Vendor" by Gartner; Best Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Solution and Best Integration-Defensive Countermeasures in the Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) Radar Report: Website Vulnerability Assessment; a Red Herring Global 100 winner, inclusion in the Inc. 500 list; and, a finalist for SC Magazine's Best Web Application Security Solution.

About WhiteHat Security

Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, WhiteHat Security is the leading provider of website risk management solutions that protect critical data, ensure compliance and narrow the window of risk. WhiteHat Sentinel, the company's flagship product family, is the most accurate, complete and cost-effective website vulnerability management solution available. It delivers the flexibility, simplicity and manageability that organizations need to take control of website security and prevent Web attacks. Furthermore, WhiteHat Sentinel enables automated mitigation of website vulnerabilities via integration with Web application firewalls and Snort-based intrusion prevention systems. To learn more about WhiteHat Security, please visit our website at www.whitehatsec.com.