Symantec and CGNET Secure E-mail Communications for the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research

Humanitarian organization protects infrastructure from spam and viruses with Symantec and CGNET

CUPERTINO, Calif.– Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced that the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) is using Symantec Hosted Mail Security to protect its research centers and communication network against spam, viruses and other Internet-borne threats. Symantec blocks more than 50 million spam messages and more than one million viruses from reaching the organization’s network each year. As a result of its work with Symantec and managed services provider CGNET, the CGIAR has eliminated network disruptions caused by e-mail viruses or similar attacks, enabling the organization to focus its efforts on the life-saving research it conducts in remote and undeveloped parts of the world.

A strategic alliance of countries, international and regional organizations and private foundations, the CGIAR (www.cgiar.org) supports 15 global agricultural research centers. With more than 8,500 employees, the organization works with governments, nonprofit organizations and corporations in more than 100 countries to reduce poverty, foster human well-being, promote agricultural growth and protect the environment. Because the organization provides a public service, e-mail addresses are often made public and are therefore more vulnerable to spam and virus attacks.

“Ensuring secure and reliable e-mail communication is vital to supporting our researchers and scientists working in remote, developing countries where spam can choke narrowband connections and potentially cut off essential communications,” said Enrica Porcari, chief information officer for the CGIAR. “Symantec helps protect our e-mail infrastructure from harmful viruses that could bring our network, and our critical research efforts, to a standstill.”

Protecting the Integrity of E-mail

For several years, Symantec AntiVirus and the Symantec Mail Security appliance have protected the CGIAR network from viruses and spam. In 2006, the CGIAR worked with CGNET to upgrade its anti-spam and antivirus capabilities to Symantec Hosted Mail Security. Hosted at the Symantec Security Operations Center and relayed through CGNET’s Network Operations Center, CGIAR’s e-mail security solution protects against spam, viruses, directory harvest attacks and other Internet-borne threats without requiring additional hardware or software investment.

“For our researchers and scientists in the field, e-mail communication is their lifeline,” said Porcari. “Symantec understands that having e-mail virtually free of viruses and spam is not a luxury, but truly a mission-critical necessity for the CGIAR.” Symantec Hosted Mail Security blocks 98 percent of spam from the CGIAR’s mailboxes—blocking more than 50 million spam messages and more than one million viruses over the past year.

Ensuring Security with Flexibility

Symantec software also enables the CGIAR’s researchers and staff members to manage their own spam filtering and protection options from anywhere they can access their e-mail. This flexibility is essential for users to be able to correct and avoid future occurrences of any false positives that are tagged as spam while enabling them to filter their e-mail content according to their needs and preferences.

“Symantec provides a good balance of protecting researchers’ inboxes from potentially harmful e-mail while giving them the control and flexibility they need to do their jobs,” added Porcari.