SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - April 16, 2009) - Privacy and security threats are morphing at lightning speed as daily activities increasingly move to the digital realm. In response, TRUSTe, the leading trustmark and recognized authority on Internet privacy, today announced the acquisition of Haute Secure, developer of innovative web site scanning and anti-malware technology. The move will further advance TRUSTe's technologies for certifying web privacy practices and protecting the consumers who visit Web sites carrying the TRUSTe seal.

"In a highly networked world, it's critical for businesses to communicate, conduct commerce, and build communities online," said Fran Maier, CEO of TRUSTe. "TRUSTe is expanding its services to extend beyond privacy certification and enforcement to include more points at which consumer trust can be compromised. Ultimately, this is about giving people a sense of confidence -- that they can trust the Web site, and by extension, the company behind it."

This acquisition expands TRUSTe's team and technology capabilities to provide more extensive site scanning and monitoring to better serve its leading clients, reach more small businesses, and help consumers better identify who to trust with their personal information. In addition, TRUSTe will offer reputation and anti-malware scanning services directly to browsers, online communities and other Web sites interested in protecting their users. This new technology enables TRUSTe to:

--  Deliver privacy benchmarking, security scanning, and enhanced
    compliance monitoring to its premier client base
--  Provide deep inspection of a broad range of user-generated and Web 2.0
    content, including blog postings, photo uploads and online advertising
--  Help small businesses establish, build, maintain and repair a positive
    reputation for privacy and security protection that increases consumer
    confidence
    

TRUSTe has been at the forefront of online privacy for more than 10 years, certifying more than 3,500 of the most highly trafficked Web sites and effectively protecting the privacy of hundreds of millions of consumers per month.

"In order to stay current, trusted businesses enhance their web sites to support all kinds of user interaction, but unfortunately, this becomes a feeding ground for 'bad guys' who see opportunities to infiltrate legitimate sites," said Iain Mulholland, co-founder of Haute Secure, who will now lead the technology efforts at TRUSTe. "Most online criminals are terribly smart and web savvy, rivaling the top engineers of Silicon Valley. Their 'no-rules' approach to stealing valuable personal information makes them a significant privacy threat."

The threat landscape is shifting, posing new challenges to well-established brands. As Web sites carry more user-generated content, they inadvertently open the door to new vulnerabilities, making even the most mainstream addresses on the Web potential targets of online criminal activity. Common online content, such as blog comments to discussion boards, can include file links leading to compromised or illegitimate Web sites. Potential problems can also arise from malicious code embedded in uploaded images.

About TRUSTe

TRUSTe Privacy Seals help consumers click with confidence by guiding them to trustworthy Web sites. More than 3,500 Web sites rely on TRUSTe industry best practices to help them make the right decisions about privacy and protecting confidential user information. Most of the top fifty Web sites are certified to TRUSTe's leading practices, including Yahoo, Facebook, MSN, eBay, AOL, Disney, New York Times, Comcast and Apple. To find out more about privacy, visit http://www.truste.com.