Symantec puts spyware, phishing and virus protection in the cloud

Symantec's Hosted Endpoint Protection is available now

BARCELONA: Symantec has launched Hosted Endpoint Protection, designed to let small and medium businesses (SMBs) deploy protection through the cloud without the need to manage additional hardware or software.

Symantec Hosted Endpoint Protection comes with all the features of the current Symantec Endpoint Protection software, including desktop firewall, browser protection, anti-phishing, malware, spyware and virus protection.

The Hosted version will also incorporate Symantec’s Ubiquity technology to detect zero-day, mutating threats in real time, and will be deployable within minutes, the security firm said.

Rowan Trollope, senior vice president of hosted services, used the example of the delegates attending the conference to outline the advantages of Hosted Endpoint Protection over traditional enterprise security software.

“If there was an outbreak today and a new signature came out to protect your laptop, unless you connected back to your corporate environment, you’re not going to get any protection,” he said.

“You are totally untethered right now and your devices are wide open. With Symantec Hosted Endpoint Protection that’s never the case. You’re always connected because you are connected to the internet, so it is a better solution for the mobile workforce.”

With 50 per cent of the Western European workforce carrying out mobile working using portable devices such as laptops, according to Symantec, the firm views cloud as a key part of its service delivery.

While Trollope conceded that cloud technology is not yet mature enough to the point where users can transition away from an enterprise datacentre, he argued that at some point in the future large enterprises will no longer need a datacentre - and this could be as soon as 10 years from now.

Symantec Hosted Endpoint Protection is available globally now on per user, per month pricing plans.