SecurityFocus quells takeover doubts

Following Wednesday's announcement that Symantec is acquiring SecurityFocus, the antivirus firm has moved to quell speculation that this spells the end for the security site.

A few unimpressed users of the SecurityFocus site and its Bugtraq newsletter service had been vocal about the future of the site under new ownership.

Some think that SecurityFocus will lose its independence and objectivity, whether or not Symantec interferes in the running of things.

"We were not surprised that people were sceptical about the announcement," said Gail Hamilton, executive vice president of Symantec, acknowledging that the security community is not one that likes change.

"But we figured that we would let SecurityFocus and its services, like Bugtraq, carry on running as they have done. They are valuable services and they aren't broken so there's no need to fix them."

Hamilton made efforts to assure vnunet.com that the acquired firm would maintain its independence and objectivity and would not suffer meddling at the hands of its new owner.

While those crying foul over the deal seem to be from the anti-establishment pockets of the community, Symantec insists that a large number of customers are positive about the move.

Hamilton also claimed that Bugtraq subscriptions were on the rise since the announcement.

The acquisition is part of Symantec's strategy to spread out from offering more than just an antivirus service and instead offering generic vulnerability early warnings and intrusion detection.