West Coast Labs and Spirent Collaborate to Define Cyber Security Test Methodology

Leading Independent Test Lab Leverages Spirent Avalanche to Validate Performance of Network Security Devices for Security Technology Developers and Corporate Enterprises

Sunnyvale, Calif. – February 28, 2012 – Spirent Communications plc (LSE: SPT) today announced that it is collaborating with West Coast Labs, one of the world’s leading independent test facilities, to define the optimal test methodology for and benchmarking the performance of network and content security elements. West Coast Labs will combine its own expertise in content security threat analysis, research and testing with Spirent’s solutions to validate the performance capabilities of network security appliances that security technology developers are bringing to market and enterprise network managers are deploying in their new or upgraded networks.

The increase in the number of cyber-attacks highlights the devastating effects they can have on revenue due to stolen assets, damage control, lost productivity and reduced brand confidence. With the migration to cloud computing, security becomes even more important as organizations rely on an external provider for data segregation, data privacy, privileged user access, availability and recovery. However, the biggest challenge facing the industry today is the lack of standard testing methodologies to validate the performance of network security devices.

“When making a buying decision it is critical for enterprises, big and small, to independently assess and compare the performance of security products and services,” said Chris Thomas, operations director at West Coast Labs. “In that context, security technology developers can benefit enormously from the unique performance validation testing that West Coast Labs’ and Spirent’s combined expertise can deliver. We are delighted to be able to partner with Spirent to define test methodologies that will enable vendors and enterprises make informed development and buying decisions.”

West Cost Labs is using Spirent Avalanche™ to provide complete security, attack and performance testing of network infrastructures, Web application infrastructures, virtual/cloud infrastructures ensuring Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) on the enterprise networks. Tests methodologies will feature stateful secure traffic, along with attacks such as distributed denial of service (DDoS) to stretch security solutions to the limits of their capabilities.

“This partnership builds on our history of working with independent testing facilities with specific subject matter expertise to build and design performance benchmarking tests and methodologies,” said Ankur Chadda, product marketing manager, Networks & Applications group at Spirent. “As a leading test lab for security product and service validation, West Coast Labs enables security technology developers and enterprises to leverage best of breed testing capabilities with unbiased feedback on the performance of the device under test.”

For more information on network and cloud computing security testing, visit http://www.spirent.com/Networks-and-Applications/Network_security

About West Coast Labs

Part of the Haymarket Media Group, West Coast Labs is a global leader in technical research, testing and the Checkmark Certification of information security products and services. With market-leading technology and testing facilities accredited to ISO17025 in the UK, USA, India and China, West Coast Labs' services and the Checkmark Certification System are used by the leading global brands to create market advantage and by large business enterprises for obtaining crucial technical insight into product performance.

For more information, visit www.westcoastlabs.com

Press Contact: Lauren Curley, lcurley@westcoast.com, 781.383.6406