Symantec and Ernst & Young to Offer Enterprise Security Solutions

Alliance Leverages E&Y's Service Delivery and Symantec Security Technology and Services

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- November 6, 2003 -- Symantec, the world leader in Internet security, and Ernst & Young LLP, one of the world's largest professional services firms, today announced a global strategic alliance that leverages Ernst & Young's service delivery and Symantec's security technology and managed security services to provide security solutions to enterprise customers. Together the organisations can offer scalable security solutions to help enterprises reduce their total cost of security as well as the complexity of point-to-point security products and associated human resources demands.

"With the number of cyber threats increasing, the ability to conduct business safely and securely is a strategic business imperative," said Mark Doll, Americas director of Ernst & Young's Security Services. "Taking an integrated approach to security enables enterprises to reduce digital business risks that result in financial losses, production downtime, and loss of confidential or critical data. Symantec's leading threat management and managed security solutions and approach to integrating security at all levels of the network helps create a less complex security solution while enhancing protection."

Symantec and Ernst & Young can provide security solutions that are aligned with an enterprise's overall IT and business strategies. Ernst & Young's Digital Risk approach, which spans the security services lifecycle from assessment to implementation, together with Symantec's security products helps a customer measure human resources, processes, and technology costs and recast its investment in IT security as an investment to prevent possible financial loss as a result of a security incident.

In addition, Ernst & Young leverages its Value of Risk Avoidance (VoRA) methodology developed by its Economics and Business Analytics Group to enable customers to develop ROI assessments for security investments by looking at the "value-at-risk."

"C-level executives today are concerned with business continuity and the right security program can minimise the impact of threats and ensure that business is not interrupted," said John Schwarz, president and COO at Symantec. "Symantec's strategy is to provide customers with better management oversight, including more effective incident response and proactive threat and risk management. By working with Ernst & Young, we are able to implement risk management as part of a customer's strategic business plan."

Symantec Enterprise Security provides organisations with the technology, global response and services necessary to manage its information security. Symantec's comprehensive solutions offer best-of-breed products to protect gateways, servers, and clients with firewall security, intrusion detection, threat and vulnerability management, virus protection and virtual private networking (VPN). Symantec Managed Security Services delivers industry leading real-time security monitoring, management, and response to enhance an organisation's information security posture and help defend against emerging threats.

Ernst & Young's Technology and Security Risk Services practice comprises more than 3000 professionals internationally with extensive experience assisting companies to reduce risk and enhance the security, maintenance and control of IT systems. The group serves technology-intensive organisations coping with the ever-increasing range and sophistication of internal and external digital threats.

About Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, is committed to restoring the public's trust in professional services firms and in the quality of financial reporting. Its 103,000 people in more than 140 countries around the globe pursue the highest levels of integrity, quality, and professionalism to provide clients with solutions based on financial, transactional, and risk-management knowledge in Ernst & Young's core services of audit, tax, and corporate finance. Ernst & Young practices also provide legal services in those parts of the world where permitted. Further information about Ernst & Young and its approach to a variety of business issues can be found at www.ey.com/us/perspectives. Ernst & Young refers to all the members of the global Ernst & Young organisation.

About Symantec
Symantec, the world leader in Internet security technology, provides a broad range of content and network security software and appliance solutions to individuals, enterprises and service providers. The company is a leading provider of client, gateway and server security solutions for virus protection, firewall and virtual private network, vulnerability management, intrusion detection, Internet content and e-mail filtering, remote management technologies and security services to enterprises and service providers around the world. Symantec's Norton brand of consumer security products is a leader in worldwide retail sales and industry awards. Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Symantec has worldwide operations in 36 countries. For more information, please visit www.symantec.com.au

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