Recurring security problems with other US "wire services" reminds us of the heavy responsibility that we at PrimeZone Media Network feel as we disseminate news and information for businesses across the nation.
Although PrimeZone has not experienced any security incidents of any kind, we continue to review and refine our procedures and to implement additional safeguards whenever a "hoax" news release is disseminated by other wire services.
It is important to note that PrimeZone is not an "Internet" service. We are a news release wire service like our older competitors, PR Newswire and Business Wire. We do not simply send emails out to the media in a shotgun fashion: we focus on financial news releases distributed through a dedicated network that includes satellite transmission via the Associated Press' DataFeatures, modem-to-modem delivery and file transfer applications where that medium is the preferred method of receiving copy.
PrimeZone's is an eminently reliable network whose main function is with a dedicated mission to the disclosure of financial information on behalf of publicly traded companies in a safe, efficient, consistent and responsible manner.
PrimeZone's management team and staff are built on experience -- both in the news and news release dissemination industries. It is this foundation of experience that enabled us to launch in 1998.
Our CEO and co-founder, Tom Madden, spent more than two decades working as a reporter and editor for United Press International, various newspapers and PR Newswire before he founded PrimeZone. Other members of our staff are veterans of PR Newswire and Business Wire and many have years of direct experience at newspapers and other print publications.
We take our responsibility to disseminate news for publicly traded companies very seriously. What follows are some of the procedures we put in place at our inception.
A release cannot be uploaded for distribution via PrimeZone's Website without a username and password. Password identification allows PrimeZone to ask a question that initiates a replay of the secondary password. The secondary password is not used for anything other than the query/response and can only be accessed by a PrimeZone employee. As always, all releases sent to PrimeZone (whether by Website upload, email or fax) generate a phone call from a PrimeZone customer service representative to verify all distribution instructions and question anything that in any way seems out of place. The primary contact at each company is the only person who can authorize us to send a release. That contact must personally authorize a secondary contact to send releases. News releases must be approved by a PrimeZone senior supervisor before being transmitted. We believe these procedures enable us to protect our customers and the media from those who would attempt fraud. Nevertheless, we remain committed to improving our security and customer service capabilities. Rest assured that we will constantly look for ways to provide the safest and most efficient news dissemination services possible.
Please contact me at any time to discuss our safeguards and policies.
Sincerely,
Tom Madden Chief Executive Officer PrimeZone Media Network 800-307-6627, ext. 102