SYDNEY, Australia – 6 December 2011 – Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced the Symantec Mobile Security Assessment Suite , a set of services that help enterprises evaluate their mobile security postures and develop defences against mobile threats and vulnerabilities. Leveraging Symantec’s extensive knowledge base and deep technical and operational skill sets, the Symantec Mobile Security Assessment Suite provides enterprises with strategic and tactical recommendations for the secure deployment of mobile devices and applications.

The exploding use of mobile devices and mobile applications within enterprises creates a unique set of challenges that must be addressed in order to ensure sensitive information accessed, stored and transmitted is properly protected. These challenges have left many organisations wondering how to manage the risks associated with these devices, transitioning them from simply consumer devices on the enterprise network to properly managed and protected endpoints.

“When it comes to implementing mobile technology, enterprises are being thrown into the fire,” said Clint Sand, senior director of the Security Business Practice at Symantec. “Enterprises know that security is the main impediment for broader adoption of mobility, but with all the changes in operating systems and applications, IT managers are unclear on how to comprehensively address the security challenges. We want to help these organisations with an assessment of their security posture and make recommendations on the best ways to embrace BYOD.”

Symantec Mobile Security Assessment Suite uses a solution oriented approach based on Symantec’s exclusive Mobile Security Framework. It consists of two modules; one for holistic assessment of enterprise mobile security, and one specifically focused on mobile application security.

• Symantec Mobile Security Assessments evaluate the level of risk inherent in the enterprise use of mobile computing devices, such as the Apple iPhone, iPad, or Android phones and tablets. The assessments provide an understanding of present or anticipated exposure to information security risk likely to result from gaps within the information security programs, policies and processes, based on mobile device use cases and available security controls
• Symantec Mobile App Security Assessments evaluate the security of an organisation’s custom mobile applications against best practice criteria for mobile application security. By simulating real-world device operating system and application-level attacks, the tests provide insight into the ability of an organisation’s mobile applications to resist attacks from unauthorised users and to help prevent misuse by valid users

After completion of the assessments, Symantec delivers a written report which includes an executive summary, showing the high-level analysis and findings, a scorecard illustrating the organisation’s mobile security readiness, detailed findings and recommendations, and prioritised action plans for closing any gaps that may exist. Enterprises can use the final report to formalise their mobile strategies and deployment plans around mobile device management, mobile data loss prevention, mobile encryption, mobile anti-virus and mobile authentication.

Availability
The Symantec Mobile Security Assessment Suite is currently available. These services can be purchased directly from Symantec.

Resources

• Symantec Mobile Security Assessment Suite
• Symantec Mobile Solutions
• Podcast: A Holistic Approach to Mobile Security
• Research: A Window Into Mobile Device Security

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About Symantec
Symantec is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help consumers and organisations secure and manage their information-driven world. Our software and services protect against more risks at more points, more completely and efficiently, enabling confidence wherever information is used or stored. More information is available at www.symantec.com.