BT joins hands with Symantec

NEW DELHI: BT, one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, and Symantec, the world’s leading cyber security company, have announced the integration of Symantec’s latest technology into BT’s portfolio of managed security services.

With this new agreement, BT customers will benefit from enhanced visibility of incoming internet traffic and from simplified administration of network security and hybrid cloud infrastructure.

Two new Symantec products will complement the existing Symantec Blue Coat ProxySG service to bolster BT’s Managed Web Security portfolio: Symantec SSL Visibility Appliance and Symantec Cloud Service.

Symantec SSL Visibility Appliance enables organisations to cost-effectively eliminate blind spots that come with the lack of insight into encrypted data traffic on networks. Considering approximately half of all internet traffic today is encrypted, this can create a large gap in an organisation’s security posture. With SSL Visibility Appliance, customers gain the visibility and control they need over encrypted traffic to ensure compliance with their privacy, regulatory and acceptable use policies.

Symantec Cloud Service provides global coverage and ensures always-on security for user devices against malware, viruses and advanced threats. It leverages real-time intelligence from Symantec’s Global Intelligence Network, the world’s largest civilian threat intelligence network, which harnesses data from more than 1 billion web requests, 2 billion emails, and 175 million endpoints to update security controls with comprehensive threat telemetry in real-time.

The agreement announced today also covers access to the Symantec Management Centre platform required for the new Symantec SSL Visibility Appliance and Symantec Cloud Service. This replaces the current Blue Coat Director capability, which will continue to be supported until at least 2020 for existing customers.

Mike Fey, president and Chief Operating Officer, Symantec, said: “Expanding Symantec’s capabilities within BT’s portfolio will provide BT customers a comprehensive service that is needed in today’s cyber security environment. By providing dedicated SSL visibility we can combat security threats hidden in encrypted traffic so that customers can focus on critical business priorities. And the Symantec Cloud Service makes it possible for customers to extend our robust Blue Coat web security capabilities to their mobile workforce, protecting users and information on any device and from any location.”

Mark Hughes, CEO, BT Security, said: “Monitoring network environments has become increasingly complex over the last few years, and improving visibility of encrypted traffic activity and identifying blind spots is vital for a safe and secure business. Our agreement with Symantec helps address this issue and is a new step in providing a full, comprehensive package that equips Chief Information Security Officers with the administrative tools needed to monitor their networks.”

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