Symantec Unveils Advanced Threat Protection, Declares Antivirus 'Dead'

Symantec (SYMC) will release Symantec Managed Security Services – Advanced Threat Protection (MSS-ATP) and Symantec Advanced Threat Protection Solution, which are designed to help Symantec customers stop IT security breaches. Brian Dye, senior vice president of Symantec Information Security, said these offerings could help organizations detect and respond to targeted attacks. 

“To successfully defend against the types of targeted attacks we’re seeing today, you need to expand the focus from prevention to detection and response,” Dye said in a prepared statement. “Organizations need security across these control points working together, with incident response capabilities and global information intelligence, to beat the bad guys. Symantec is bringing that powerful arsenal to market.”

Dye also told The Wall Street Journal recently he believes antivirus protection is “dead.” In fact, he said his company is looking to reinvent itself because he believes antivirus software no longer meets Symantec customers’ needs.

“We don’t think of antivirus as a moneymaker in any way,” Dye told The Wall Street Journal.

Symantec’s portfolio of integrated ATP solutions is powered by the Symantec Global Intelligence Network (GIN), which collects attack data from Symantec customers across the globe. Symantec uses this data to “develop predictive, proactive technologies that deliver unmatched advanced threat protection.”

Available next month, Symantec MSS-ATP features managed services to detect, prioritize and respond to IT security incidents. With Symantec MSS-ATP, the company claims IT organizations can lower their operating costs and ensure they are protected against myriad security vulnerabilities.

In addition, Symantec plans to release a new Advanced Threat Protection Solution within the next 12 months. This solution will deliver integrated advanced threat protection across the endpoint, email and gateway to provide Symantec customers with detection and response capabilities at each respective control point, the company said.

“There is a significant need in the market for greater advanced threat protection, and many vendors do not have the holistic coverage or full-functionality needed to adequately detect and respond to targeted attacks,” Jon Oltsik, senior principal analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), said in a prepared statement. “By leveraging its global intelligence and building-in completely new incident response capabilities, Symantec can really address a multitude of enterprise cybersecurity requirements.”