Symantec Managed Security Services Delivers Increased Protection Against Bot Networks

CUPERTINO, Calif.– Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced that its Managed Security Service (MSS) customers are protected against the increased security threat of bots, malicious programs that are covertly installed on an individual computer allowing unauthorized users to control the system remotely. By integrating new bot intelligence into its MSS technology, Symantec delivers additional insight into security threats, including bot networks and other unauthorized communications with known Internet offenders. Effective immediately, customers will automatically receive access to the new bot intelligence through their current service at no additional cost.

“Symantec views bots as the most severe online security threat to both enterprises and consumers,” said Grant Geyer, vice president, Symantec Managed Security Services. “Symantec is the only company providing an additional layer of bot protection for our enterprise customers through the integration of new bot intelligence into our Managed Security Service technology.”

Through its Global Intelligence Network, Symantec Managed Security Services has the capability to find bot activity from its threat data sources, identify malware and correlate blacklist information with what would otherwise seem to be benign activity. During the month of September, more than half of the 2,000 bot-related incidents identified were solely based on the new bot intelligence capabilities, allowing Symantec to deliver critical escalations regarding bot activity to 7 percent of its Managed Security Services customer base on a daily basis.

Bots can be used by the external attacker for a wide variety of malicious activities, such as performing a Denial of Service (DoS) attack against an organization’s Web site and collecting confidential information from compromised computers, which can then lead to identity theft and/or distributing spam. Cyber criminals can also use the compromised information for distributing a phishing attack, an attempt to steal personal account information by luring a recipient to respond to a message through a malicious Web site.

According to the most recent Internet Security Threat Report, Symantec detected more than 5 million distinct bot-infected computers during the reporting period of Jan. 1 through June 30, 2007, representing an almost 7 percent increase from the same reporting period the previous year. The malicious code used to infect a computer with a bot is typically installed on many systems and remotely controlled by a Command and Control server. This network of bot-infected computers and the Command and Control server is called a bot network and can enable a remote attacker to control a large number of compromised computers over a single, reliable channel to launch coordinated attacks.

Symantec Managed Security Services leverages global intelligence to offer fast and accurate analysis of security data to protect customers against emerging threats and reduce overall security risk. Its 24x7 real-time services enhance an organization’s information security posture through continuous monitoring and management, expert analysis and immediate response to potential security threats. Symantec is positioned in the leaders quadrant of Gartner, Inc.’s North American Managed Security Service Provider Magic Quadrant1.

Symantec Global Services is a leader in providing expertise and resources that manage IT risk, reduce costs and maximize IT performance. Symantec Global Services includes Professional Services, Managed and Hosted Services, and Enterprise Support Services and Security Response. Symantec consultants have worked with 95 percent of the Fortune 500 and possess an average of 15 years experience in IT Risk Management disciplines including security, availability, performance and compliance.