Elsevier Acquires Syngress Publishing

Bringing Readers Worldwide Premier Computer Security Books

Burlington, MA, December 20, 2006 – Elsevier announced today its acquisition of the business of Syngress Publishing, Inc. ("Syngress"), making this combination the leading provider of computer security books in the information technology market. Elsevier and Syngress will mark this alliance by continuing to be first-to-market with leading titles on building and deploying essential security tools for network infrastructures and applications development.

Since founding Syngress in 1997, Chris Williams and Amy Pedersen have published books written by numerous IT experts, publishing 40 titles in 2006 and planning to publish over 50 books in 2007.

"Elsevier has successfully marketed Syngress products in the UK and EMEA since 2001," said Chris Williams, CEO and co-founder of Syngress. "When approached about an acquisition, we knew based on that track record that it was a good fit for us and our customers. With Elsevier’s worldwide distribution capability and their initiatives in electronic media, we expect continued growth in our IT Professional publishing program," Williams added.

Some of the forthcoming titles from Syngress and Elsevier include "Open Source Fuzzing Tools" by Noam Rathaus of Beyond Security; "Dr. Tom Shinder’s Guide to ISA Server 2006 and Microsoft Networking Security" by Dr. Thomas W. Shinder, M.D.; "Google Hacking for Penetration Testers", Second Edition by bestselling author Johnny Long with

PCI Compliance; and "Implementing Effective PCI Data Security Standards" by About.com’s Tony Bradley and Anton Chuvakin, Ph.D and Director of Product Marketing, LogLogic.

"Elsevier is no stranger to Syngress," commented Jim Donohue, Managing Director, Elsevier Science and Technology Books. "Elsevier has been the sole distributor for Syngress in the United Kingdom and EMEA region for over five years. We’re excited about taking this relationship to new heights, building on the Syngress and Elsevier core values of providing readers with bestselling titles and quality customer service they’ve come to expect from us," Donohue added.

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About Syngress
Syngress Publishing, headquartered in Rockland, Massachusetts, is an independent publisher of print and electronic reference materials for Information Technology professionals seeking skill enhancement and career advancement. Distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and the U.S. and Canada, Syngress titles have been translated into twenty languages. The Company’s pioneering customer support program, solutions@syngress.com, extends the value of every Syngress title with regular information updates and customer-driven author forums

About Elsevier
As a global leader in information and analytics, Elsevier helps researchers and healthcare professionals advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. We do this by facilitating insights and critical decision-making for customers across the global research and health ecosystems.

In everything we publish, we uphold the highest standards of quality and integrity. We bring that same rigor to our information analytics solutions for researchers, health professionals, institutions and funders.

Elsevier employs 8,100 people worldwide. We have supported the work of our research and health partners for more than 140 years. Growing from our roots in publishing, we offer knowledge and valuable analytics that help our users make breakthroughs and drive societal progress. Digital solutions such as ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciVal, ClinicalKey and Sherpath support strategic research management, R&D; performance, clinical decision support, and health education. Researchers and healthcare professionals rely on our 2,500+ digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell; our 40,000 eBook titles; and our iconic reference works, such as Gray's Anatomy. With the Elsevier Foundation and our external Inclusion & Diversity Advisory Board, we work in partnership with diverse stakeholders to advance inclusion and diversity in science, research and healthcare in developing countries and around the world.

Elsevier is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. www.elsevier.com.

Media Contact
Sheri Dean Allen
Elsevier
+1 (919) 471-5628
sheri.deanallen@elsevier.com