Symantec out to clean up networks
Published: 20 Aug 1999 09:33 BST
Anti-virus giant Symantec on Thursday announced a rethink of its network security strategy with a stronger focus on content security.
The move comes after the company produced a report in tandem with industry analyst Forester Research which discovered that most IT managers are more concerned by data security than any other aspect of their network.
Aled Miles, Symantec's UK managing director, promised that reconfiguring existing Symantec applications to concentrate more on content security and greater levels of automation will revolutionise Network security and maintenance. "IT managers don't want you to say you'll provide 'end-to-end' solutions because they know that no-one can. We plan to concentrate far more on providing a depth of content security rather than trying to manage the whole network," he said.
Miles dismissed concerns that this could lead to a lack of network compatibility and efficiency. "We have a long history of involvement in networking and there will be no problems with automatic updating and compatibility. There will also be a certain amount of re-education, but we believe that companies think that this is more than worth it."
Miles said that using Ghost and Digital Immune technology will be key to making this possible. Ghost allows the blueprint of an individual computer to be copied and reproduced in minutes, and Digital Immune is an innovative networking application that automates many administrative security and maintenance procedures. A limited number of companies are currently pioneering Symantec's new networking solution.
According to Abner Germanov, senior Internet security analyst with IDC Research in the US, Symantec's shift could be a very shrewd move indeed. "Content security within a network is an area of growing importance. Companies are becoming more and more concerned about what sorts of information their employees are dealing with. I guess you have too ask yourself what's worse, an attack from the outside, or a sexual harassment case," he said.
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