Symantec education services promotes safe employee security practices with new corporate awareness program

Symantec, the world leader in Internet security, today announced availability of the Symantec Corporate Security Awareness Program, a comprehensive, measurable training and communications program designed for organisations to implement over the course of one year to increase employee security awareness.

Symantec brings its depth of expertise in information security best practices to the Symantec Corporate Security Awareness Program, enabling organisations to improve security posture by reducing information security risk posed by employees.

Many employees in today's workforce are not aware that they play an important role in their organisation's security. They download programs from the Internet, open unsolicited e-mail attachments, participate in file-swapping programs, engage in instant messaging, and neglect to update passwords and anti-virus protection all activities that could put the network at risk.

The Symantec Corporate Security Awareness Program provides participating organisations with materials on CD-ROMs that include recommendations for program implementation, electronic files of printed materials that can be used to internally promote and support the success of the initiative, technology-based security awareness training modules, as well as mechanisms to measure and track the participation and progress of employees. The program aims to empower all employees to take an active role in the protection of their company's resources.

"For large enterprise customers looking to satisfy regulatory requirements and meet industry standards mandating employee security awareness training, the Symantec Corporate Security Awareness Program delivers a complete set of tools to implement a comprehensive, measurable internal communications program," said Patrick Evans, regional manager for Africa at Symantec.

"Unlike other security awareness programs that offer a fragmented 'pick and choose' menu approach, Symantec's packaged solution walks customers through each step, enabling them to easily implement a complete solution."

"Individuals that have not been properly trained on how to effectively identify and deal with Internet threats pose a significant risk to any organization," said Allan Carey, program manager, Information Security Services, at IDC. "With its Corporate Security Awareness Program, Symantec offers organisations the opportunity to convert one of their biggest threats facing information security today into their first line of defence - their own employees."

Part of Symantec Enterprise Security Services, Symantec Education Services provides technical product training, vendor-neutral security education, security certifications, and employee security awareness programs so enterprises can better protect vital information. These programs enable organisations to optimise the operation and administration of security systems, effectively address business risks, and reduce security issues with a more conscientious workforce. For more information on Symantec Education Services and its upcoming Web casts and Seminars, please visit http://enterprisesecurity.symantec.com/SecurityServices/.

Symantec Enterprise Security provides any size organisation with the technology, global response and services necessary to manage its information security. Symantec's comprehensive solution offers best-of-breed products to protect gateways, servers, and clients with firewall security, intrusion detection, vulnerability management, virus protection and virtual private networking (VPN). Customers benefit from Symantec's global network of researchers that provide customers with around-the-clock, immediate response to any new security-related attacks. Symantec Enterprise Security customers are also supported by one of the largest professional security organisations in the world, offering security consulting, security education and managed security services. For more information, please visit Symantec's enterprise Web site at http://enterprisesecurity.symantec.com.