Symantec Launches Online Fraud Protection

May 19, 2008 – 7:26 PM

Symantec Corp. today announced the availability of Symantec Online Fraud Protection, a comprehensive program that includes Symantec services, education and ongoing monitoring and management capabilities designed to protect businesses that conduct large volumes of financial transactions and their customers from losses due to online fraud.

This offering helps businesses shield their customers from a variety of online threats, including phishing and pharming. By helping their customers safely conduct transactions online, businesses can boost customer loyalty, minimize financial loss and legal exposure, and reduce risks to their corporate brand.

Corporate brand erosion as a result of online fraud is a significant problem facing all organizations that conduct business online. Symantec’s most recent Internet Security Threat Report, Volume XIII released in April 2008 indicates that threats from online fraud continue to plague both enterprise organizations and consumers. In the last six months of 2007, Symantec observed more than 85,000 phishing hosts – computers that can host one or more phishing Web sites – an increase of 167 percent from the first half of 2007.

“Fraud attacks are becoming more sophisticated and are increasingly targeting businesses and customers with devastating effects,” said Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst, Enderle Group. “Organizations generally lack an effective comprehensive approach to mitigating online fraud. In addition, the damage that results from fraud now goes beyond just financial damage to impacting the global brand. This combination should make reducing the related risks a primary business objective.” Leveraging Symantec’s broad footprint and position as a leader in security, Symantec Online Fraud Protection is a flexible program that combines a variety of offerings based on customer need. This offering is also backed by Symantec’s Global Intelligence Network which provides the most comprehensive view of Internet attack activity based on security intelligence data gathered from around the world. Symantec’s Global Intelligence Network includes 11 security response centers that analyze data from more than 2 million email accounts, 120 million systems and more than 40,000 devices in more than 200 countries. Symantec Online Fraud Protection includes:

• Phishing Monitoring: Watches for new phishing attacks and other attacks on the client’s brand.
• Transaction Monitoring: Reviews transactions on back-end systems and blocks fraudulent activities.
• Online Fraud Incident Response and Countermeasures: Provides rapid response to attacks in order to minimize losses and protect brand reputation, including working with ISPs to curtail the activities of fraudsters.
• Malware Intelligence and Analysis: Provides monitoring of malware targeting a specific brand and analysis of new malware behavior.
• Consumer Education and Protection: Helps organizations educate and protect their end-user customers from online threats and minimize the risk of fraud.
• Expert Resident: The offering also includes an expert resident from Symantec, with access to a variety of security intelligence data sources, who works with in-house staff to provide security expertise and serve as the primary point of contact leading all online fraud protection efforts.

“Symantec’s recent Internet Security Threat Report shows that 80 percent of brands targeted by phishing attacks were in the financial sector,” said Ted Donat, director of product management, Symantec Consulting Services. “As online fraud continues to increase, Symantec is arming its customers with tools to protect against the brand erosion that can result from an attack. With Symantec’s superior malware intelligence and analysis, monitoring and incident response services, customers can quickly respond to online fraud attacks, leverage expert command and control during incidents, and shift their approach to online fraud from reactive to proactive.”

Source: ebizQ