Vincent Weafer

Senior Director of Development, Symantec Security Response

Work at Symantec

Prior to working for Symantec, what was your first experience with its products?

My first experience with Symantec products was Norton Commander, which I used for years. I really liked the interface and it was part of my standard toolkit for navigating and editing software development.

How long have you been working for Symantec and how did you join?

I joined Symantec in 1994 through my wife, who was teaching Japanese language and culture to a team of Symantec engineers charged with working on Japanese product engineering and localization. When the team asked if she knew of anyone experienced in both software engineering and Japanese, she offered my name. The first projects I worked on were Norton Desktop for Windows and Norton Utilities.

What gives you the most satisfaction in your job?

I enjoy helping customers protect their systems from Internet threats. It’s great having enterprise customers as well as consumers let us know how we’ve helped. In fact, once a year I look forward to getting a call from a particular customer—a grandfather in Portland—who asks me to help him configure his firewall. I’m still not sure how he got my home phone number, but I appreciate his diligence and he appreciates the assistance.

What is your most memorable experience with Symantec?

One of the most memorable events for our Security Response team was Y2K. Our team was considerably smaller back then and we had spent many months preparing for the event, from detailing plans on threat coverage to creating regional communication and business continuity plans. We received a great deal of attention from the press around the perceived risks with Y2K while also fielding numerous questions from our enterprise customers. When the evening of December 31, 1999 arrived, I spent it with Fox News in Los Angeles. I was back at my office by 7 a.m. the next day, January 1, only to find yet another television crew waiting outside for an interview, which I accommodated right from the sidewalk.

Other memorable events involved the many virus pandemics of the early 2000s. These events drew a great deal of media attention and customer concern. The “follow the sun” nature of the threats meant our Security response team would literally be up for days without sleep as we watched threat activity progress. It was hectic, but there was also a great sense of camaraderie and purpose, particularly around 3 a.m.

What do you think has been the most innovative solution Symantec has provided its customers?

On the consumer side, one of our most valuable innovations has been in making complex technologies simple to use and easy to understand. With the Norton product family, virtually any user can understand what the product does and how it works.

On the enterprise side, one of our most valuable innovations has been Symantec Security Incident Manager. The product was ahead of its time, focusing on providing the intelligence data for security incident response.

How do you and your team help to deliver on Symantec’s promise of Confidence in a connected world? Our team is both a service- and technology-based team that is designed to protect customers, respond to incidents, and provide education and awareness. We work with our partners inside Symantec to build and deliver the best security and safety solutions for customers.

If you could grant Symantec one wish for its 25th birthday, what would it be?

My wish would be that our teams have confidence in their solutions and abilities—and remember to have fun!

25 years of your life

What were you likely doing in April 1982 when Symantec was formed?

I was in my junior year in college getting a degree in electronic engineering with a specialty in digital systems controls. Interestingly, in April 1982 I was just beginning a summer internship with a storage company in Dublin working on the old mainframe tape-drive components.

What technological advancement has most changed your life since 1982? While the Internet and email clearly top the list, my next pick is TiVo! I travel so much that I rarely have an opportunity to watch programs when they air. With TiVo, I can watch them anytime, so long as my family doesn’t decide to delete them to save space.

Funniest thing that has happened to you during the past 25 years?

Well, it still surprises me to be a company spokesperson. I never thought I had the communication skills, and I’m still skeptical!

Most memorable pop culture experience during the past 25 years?

I saw a local garage band with their talkative lead singer in my local neighborhood in North Dublin. I didn’t think they would ever go anywhere. Boy was I wrong! The band was U2.

World event that has most positively impacted your life during the past 25 years?

The humanitarian crises in Africa in the 1990s and even today have taught me the need for local communities to come together to stop these tragedies from occurring. There is a power that individuals have to influence change even at the national level.

On a more serious note, where do you want to be 25 years from now?

I could say I would like to be fishing on a remote beach 25 years from now, but I suspect I would find it much more fulfilling to be active in the education space.

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