Countrywide Financial Enlists Akonix To Manage Enterprise-Wide Instant Messaging

Benefits from Akonix's comprehensive and automated compliance, security and management functionality

San Diego, CA ? January 23, 2006 ? Akonix Systems, Inc., a leading provider of enterprise-class solutions for ensuring security and compliance for employee use of instant messaging (IM), today announced it was selected by Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC), a diversified financial services provider, to deliver advanced support for Countrywide's deployment of IBM? Lotus Sametime?.

As one of the most widely used enterprise IM systems, Lotus Sametime enables Countrywide employees across multiple locations to communicate in real-time with business partners, customers and co-workers. Akonix assists the financial services firm in meeting additional IM management needs, including automated reporting and industry and corporate compliance. Akonix L7 Enterprise IM management gateway defines detailed, flexible usage polices, provides active filtering for inappropriate content and confidential information and offers advanced logging, reporting and compliance monitoring capabilities.

Countrywide chose Akonix to manage the Lotus Sametime enterprise IM network and prepare for federation with existing public IM clients. Akonix also provides immediate security, compliance and management support for new public IM clients as they become available, including the recently launched Google Talk.

"Because we are required to adhere to specific government and lending institution mandates, we needed an enterprise-wide instant messaging solution that allows employees to gain the business benefits of real-time communications," said Dylan Donate, vice president of messaging technologies at Countrywide Financial. "Lotus Sametime combined with Akonix L7 Enterprise does just that ? we now have a comprehensive, secure, automated solution in place that enables internal and external IM conversations to be closely managed."

"Working with IBM, Akonix provides extensive support for Lotus Sametime deployments, including Fortune 500 companies with complex needs like Countrywide Financial," said Don Montgomery, vice president of marketing at Akonix. "As a listed company in the financial services industry, it's critical Countrywide meets multiple compliance regulations, and has a flexible, comprehensive system to audit, log and archive all IM discussions. Rather than block IM entirely, Countrywide realized the productivity benefits of IM and selected Akonix to support its advanced enterprise network."

Akonix L7 Enterprise was the first real-time security solution for public and enterprise IM systems, allowing corporations to realize the benefits of controlled access to IM without compromising network or endpoint security. Over one million users at more than 1,000 companies worldwide have deployed Akonix's IM security solutions, making Akonix the most deployed enterprise IM security solution today.

Akonix L7 Enterprise will be featured during Lotusphere 2006, in Orlando, Florida, January 23-27, 2006 in booth #220.

About Countrywide Financial Corporation
Founded in 1969, Countrywide Financial Corporation is a member of the S&P 500 and Fortune 500. Through its family of companies, Countrywide provides mortgage banking and diversified financial services in domestic and international markets. Mortgage banking businesses include loan production and servicing principally through Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., which originates, purchases, securitizes, sells and services primarily prime-quality loans. Also included in Countrywide's mortgage banking segment is the LandSafe group of companies that provide loan closing services. Diversified financial services encompass capital markets, banking, insurance and global, largely through the activities of Countrywide Capital Markets, a mortgage-related investment banker; Countrywide Bank, N.A., offering customers CDs, money market accounts and home loan products; Countrywide Insurance Group & Balboa Life & Casualty, whose companies are national providers of property, liability and life insurance; Balboa Reinsurance, a captive mortgage reinsurance company; and Global Home Loans, a European mortgage banking joint venture in which Countrywide holds a majority interest. For more information about the Company, visit Countrywide's Web site at www.Countrywide.com.

About Akonix
Akonix is the most deployed IM security product in the world, enabling Global 1000 companies to deploy productive, enterprise-wide IM that is secure, compliant and managed. More than one million global users across hundreds of organizations in the Financial Services, Telecommunications, Energy, Technology, Healthcare and Entertainment industries use Akonix solutions. With more than a dozen patents pending, Akonix's award-winning products provide the industry's only automatically-updated protection to block real-time viruses for both enterprise and public IM systems. Akonix has certified partnerships with all leading IM and presence providers including America Online?, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Reuters, IBM, Parlano and Bloomberg.