SYDNEY, Australia – September 11, 2009 – Every three and a half minutes a crime is committed on the streets of New York City^[3]. Every two and half minutes a crime is committed on the streets of Tokyo^[4]. But every three seconds, an identity is stolen online — that’s nearly 10,512,000 identities each year. Cyber crime is real crime; and it is more profitable, provides more anonymity, and can be more difficult to prosecute than offline crimes. Today Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) the makers of Norton software, has launched a crusade against cyber crime.

Symantec is exposing the inner workings of one of the largest illegal industries in the world and arming the public with the information they need to stay protected through a collection of educational and actionable assets and corporate actions including:

• Internet Black Market video series – inviting the general public to take a virtual tour and learn how the online criminal marketplace operates, what is for sale and what the latest schemes of cyber thieves are;
• Every Click Matters website – taking an entertaining and educational look at the world of cyber crime, exploring digital dangers and who’s behind them, understanding whether cyber crime can happen to you and educating on what you can do about it;
• Norton Online Risk Calculator – offering a quick and free tool to evaluate your risk level and provide an estimated value of your personal data to thieves in the criminal underground;
• “Cyber Crime Exposed” Booklet – educating on the threat of cyber crime, the risk it poses and how to safeguard against it through simple everyday steps;
• Norton Internet Security 2010 and Norton AntiVirus 2010 – bringing a powerful new defence against cyber crime and featuring ground breaking new reputation-based security codenamed Quorum.
• Making it harder for cyber criminals to scam you – Symantec works with governments and other agencies and organisations around the globe to support and influence legislation, policy and public education as it relates to online crime, Internet safety and privacy.
• Norton Internet Safety Advocate – Marian Merritt is a recognised representative for Symantec’s ongoing efforts surrounding Internet safety. She works alongside educators and public and private organisations to help families enjoy the Internet safely and securely. She also hosts the Internet Safety blog.

Internet Black Market video series

In this video series, Symantec invites you to take a virtual tour of the Internet Black Market and learn how the online criminal marketplace operates, what is for sale and expose some of the cyber criminals latest schemes.

Symantec Takes a Stand against Cyber Crime Worldwide

Symantec works with governments and other agencies and organisations around the globe to support and influence legislation, policy and public education as it relates to online crime, Internet safety and privacy. The following are global examples of our everyday work making an impact on cyber crime:

• Providing expertise and guidance to the White House as it establishes the Office of Cyber security. (U.S.)
• Providing input into the Investigative Powers for the 21st Century (IP21C) Act which ensures law enforcement has the tools needed to fight crime in today’s computer and telecommunications environment. (Canada)
• Being an active member of Singapore’s Cyber Security Awareness Alliance, a public-private partnership established to build a positive culture of cyber security in Singapore, and promote and enhance awareness and adoption of essential cyber security practices.
• Providing expertise and guidance to policy makers in Asia Pacific countries as they establish and review their cyber-security laws and national e-security frameworks including the Philippines’ Draft Data Privacy Act and Draft Cybercrime Bill, Thailand’s Draft Personal Data Protection Bill, and Australia’s Privacy Act and E-Security Review.

• Working on a collaborative project through the European Commission for ongoing research on the latest internet threats. The project commonly referred to as WOMBAT (Worldwide Observatory of Malicious Behaviours and Attack Threats) will help provide businesses and consumers the information and tools they need for greater confidence online
• Partnering with and sponsoring Action Innocence, a non-profit organisation working to keep children safe online. (France)
• Sponsoring NETZ FÜR KINDER, a public/private partnership of governmental, non-governmental and private sector organisations promoting children’s safety online. (Germany)

Quotes

“At the heart of this issue are the cyber criminals making a fortune online and the victims they leave behind. You don’t have to be a victim,” said Rowan Trollope, senior vice president, Consumer Products and Marketing, Symantec. “We’re launching this aggressive initiative because we know that education can do a lot to help people understand just what “common sense” steps they should take to protect themselves online.”

Norton 2010 Lets Users Deny Cyber Crime

With the introduction of the Norton 2010 products, Symantec empowers users with a choice – ALLOW or DENY cyber criminals a chance to destroy lives. Upon downloading Norton 2010, every user has the chance to join the fight against cyber crime by doing their part in signing up for Norton Community Watch, a program which acts like a real world neighbourhood watch program that relies on the eyes and ears of the community to detect and report trouble. The powerful new reputation-based security model in Norton 2010 products leverages the strength of the data from the 30 million user-strong Norton Community Watch. Norton Internet Security 2010 and Norton AntiVirus 2010 are available now for purchase in Australia through the Symantec online store (www.symantecstore.com.au) and will be available in retail towards the end of September.

All Norton Internet Security and Norton AntiVirus users with a valid product subscription are eligible to receive the latest product updates via the subscription service model. For more information, visit the Norton Update centre at http://updatecentre.norton.com./