CUPERTINO, Calif. - March 25, 2004 - Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC), the world leader in Internet security, today announced that it will host a Webcast highlighting findings of its most recent Internet Security Threat Report. This report is one of the most comprehensive sources of Internet threat data in the world. The Webcast will be held Tuesday, March 30 at 11 a.m. PST. Attendees can register at http://enterprisesecurity.symantec.com/content/webcastinfo.cfm?webcastid=99.

The findings of Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report, issued on March 15, are based on some of the most comprehensive sources of Internet threat data in the world. More than 20,000 security devices deployed in over 180 countries by Symantec DeepSight Threat Management System and Symantec Managed Security Services gather Internet attack activity data. Analysts in six Security Operations Centers throughout the world monitor and evaluate this data, providing Symantec with an unparalleled ability to identify, report on, and respond to emerging threats. The report covers network-based attacks, a review of vulnerabilities discovered and exploited, and highlights of malicious code trends.

Rob Clyde, Chief Technology Officer at Symantec, will lead the Webcast. His discussion will help Webcast attendees to gain a deeper understanding of the state of overall Internet threats, and what these threats mean to their organizations.

"The Symantec Internet Security Threat Report combines data from the most comprehensive sources of Internet threat information in the world with exceptional analysis from skilled security experts," said Clyde. "This Webcast provides an opportunity for participants to gain insight into a reliable, accurate source of up-to-date Internet security trend data required to strengthen their overall corporate security postures."

Internet Security Threat Report: Key Highlights
Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report found that the rise in blended threats, increased vulnerabilities targeting Windows components, and escalating discovery of severe information systems vulnerabilities pose a significant security issue for companies in the coming year.

• Blended threats made up 54 percent of the top 10 malicious code submissions over the last six months of 2003 and the overall volume of blended threat submissions in the top ten increased by 59%. These threats have caused widespread damage more quickly than ever before due to increased propagation speed, aided in part by improved bandwidth and decreased latency.
• One of the most "successful" worms, Blaster, targeted a vulnerability in core Windows components. Threats targeting these components are more widespread than the server software targeted by previous network-based worms, resulting in a much higher density of vulnerable systems.
• The number of new vulnerabilities discovered has leveled off, but newly discovered vulnerabilities are more severe, rated as such based on their impact, remote exploitability, authentication and availability. In addition, the period of time between the announcement of a vulnerability and the release of an associated exploit is shrinking. These trends suggest that "zero-day" threats may be imminent. Such threats target vulnerabilities before they are announced and patches are made available, making prevention and containment extremely challenging.

About Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report
Attack trends in the report are based on data collected from over 20,000 security devices deployed in over 180 countries by Symantec DeepSight™ Threat Management System and Symantec™ Managed Security Services. Vulnerability trends are based on statistical analysis of data housed in the Symantec Security Response vulnerability database, which contains information on more than 9,000 distinct vulnerabilities. Malicious code trends are based on submission statistics gathered from over 120 million client, server, and gateway systems that have deployed Symantec's antivirus products in consumer and corporate environments.. To download Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report, please visit http://ses.symantec.com/ITR.

About Symantec
Symantec is the world leader in providing solutions to help individuals and enterprises assure the security, availability, and integrity of their information. Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Symantec has operations in more than 40 countries. More information is available at www.symantec.com.

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