Symantec invests P2.35B to expand security operation centers

Leading cybersecurity firm Symantec Corp. has announced plans to enhance its Cyber Security Services business worldwide with an investment of more than $50 million (P2.35 billion), a portion of which was used to build a new security operations center (SOC) in Singapore that was inaugurated recently.

Organizations now require a deeper security understanding and strong proactive security measures to gain the upper hand on adversaries. Symantec’s SOCs analyze 30 billion logs worldwide daily to provide enterprise-wide protection to help organizations strengthen their defenses and respond to new emerging threats.

With the launch of the SOC in Singapore, businesses will have access to intelligence, accurate threat detection, and proactive notification of emerging threats to ensure that their most sensitive data are protected. The SOC will also enable businesses to shorten the time between detection and response, reduce operational costs, and proactively counter emerging threats.

“Today, technology alone may not stop advanced threats. Organizations need security experts on hand to interpret and prioritize the critical events that need action,” said Samir Kapuria, senior vice president and general manager of Cyber Security Services at Symantec.

“By investing in people and security IQ in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region, Symantec is expanding its visibility in the region, enabling us to bolster customers’ security operations capabilities, and protect their critical information and assets,” he added.

“The Asia-Pacific is incredibly diverse and multicultural. This allows us to attract highly educated, multilingual security professionals who bring expertise and experience from many vertical industries and global security organizations, and are well-versed in the security landscape,” Kapuria said.

Last year Symantec’s team of cyber professionals protected organizations from more than half a million Web attacks a day, according to the 2015 Internet Security Threat Report.

The investment will enable Symantec to expand its SOCs in Chennai, India, and Tokyo, Japan. The next phase of the company’s SOC expansion will take place in Europe, with more facilities expected to open within the next 12 months.

Once complete, Symantec will have eight SOCs worldwide, growing their current team of more than 500 certified cybersecurity professionals to address every stage of the cyberattack life cycle.

Symantec has also invested significantly in its cyber services-enabling technology, including big data analytics and distributed computing. With an increasing demand to manage customers’ security environments with Security as a Service, Symantec Cyber Security Services offers a strong portfolio, including Managed Security Services, DeepSight Intelligence, Incident Response and Security Simulation training.

The announcement followed a $20-million investment in existing SOCs in Australia, India and Japan last year.