Symantec combines threat intell feeds, consulting
Connecting state and local government leaders
Symantec Corp. has created a real-time risk-management suite to help its customers thwart cyberattacks faster and more effectively, company officials announced today.
Symantec Corp. has created a real-time risk-management suite to help its customers thwart cyberattacks faster and more effectively, company officials announced today.
The Symantec Threat and Vulnerability Management Program combines data from Symantec's Global Intelligence Network, which collects information on software vulnerabilities and malicious code activity, with tailored consulting on how to improve organizations' IT security, said Ted Donat, a group product manager with Symantec Security Consulting Services.
Participating organizations can prioritize intelligence, analyze it and map it onto their infrastructure, Donat said. The program allows users to remediate threats and vulnerabilities quickly and effectively while adhering to compliance requirements.
Customers get an organizationwide assessment and individually designed threat-reduction program, Donat said. They also get live data feeds and implementation and management tools.
Customers' employees get training on how to use the program, Donat said. Symantec consultants come out on a yearly basis to tweak the program and customers have the option to have a full-time consultant help them.
Symantec recommends that participating organizations create a threat and vulnerability management officer (TVMO) to coordinate threat response organizationwide. A CIO, chief information security officer or chief security officer can play the role or a Symantec consultant can fulfill the responsibilities, Donat said.
The program marks Symantec's first official combination of alerting services with consulting, Donat said. Symantec got the idea after customers who receive alerts and recommendations for fixes asked the company to help implement the fixes, he said.
Symantec has done a similar tag-team approach in an ad hoc way for other customers, Donat said. A state government has used the combination for the past two years and a large multinational company has used them for the past eight months, he said.
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