Published: Wednesday, 18th June, 2008 09:00
Virus alert? Fear not, a team is hard at work
By Annabel Williams
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Symantec's Reading SOC.
A quiet and unassuming office building in a leafy Reading business park is playing a vital role in keeping our children, and indeed all of us, safe online.
Most people with a computer in their home will have heard of Norton antivirus software, the yellow box we have to buy with our machines and install before we access the internet.
But they may not understand just how much effort goes into producing this software, and so The Chronicle took an exclusive peek into one of the nerve centres of the very firm behind the yellow box, the Symantec Corporation.
Symantec’s office at GreenPark has one of only four of the firm’s SOCs, part of its Global Intelligence Network, a resource which uses 40,000 sensors to constantly monitor internet activity in more than 180 countries.
Running 24 hours a day, the Reading SOC (Symantec Operations Centre) covers Europe, Africa and the Middle East, operating alongside the other SOCs in Sydney, Australia, Alexandria in America and India.
SOCs look for signs of potentially damaging computer programs, such as viruses and worms, known as malware.
It then down to the SOC’s team of programmers to write a signature – flagging the unique pattern of information that gives away malware’s presence – to alert a computer that it is under attack.
It is these signatures that Norton Antivirus software downloads when it is updated, meaning that computers – whether an individual’s PC or part of a business’ network – are protected.
Last year the firm wrote 700,000 signatures compared to just 10,000 in 2000, demonstrating the extent of malware growth.
Symantec also produces an Internet Security Threat Report, one of the most comprehensive sources of Internet threat data in the world.
The latest document, published in April and covering the second half of last year, found UK bank account details being sold on the underground economy for as little as Ł5, the most commonly advertised item for sale in what the firm calls “cyber supermarkets” – black market online forums used by criminals to advertise and trade stolen information and services.
Symantec has also used its online expertise to produce an advice booklet for parents and youngsters about the practical ways to stay safe online.
The firm recognises that for mothers and fathers of internet-crazy children, who seem to spend more time online than anything else, it can be daunting to know they are at risk but not have any idea of how exactly what those risks are – and how to minimise them.
The guide takes parents through children’s ages and makes recommendations as to how they can be kept safe at each stage, with definitions for baffled parents of some web terminology.
There are also sections highlighting the risks youngsters face, from predators wanting to arrange real-life meetings, using the internet for plagiarism and cheating, cyberbullying and cyberstalking to illegal file sharing and sharing private information and identity theft.
The booklet comes after a study Symantec commissioned which looked at how people in the UK, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan and the US use the internet – the Norton Online Living Report.
It examines how people’s offline activities migrate into the online world, revealing surprising cross-cultural similarities and differences when it comes to interacting with technology.
Caroline Cockerill, Symantec’s Norton Online Safety Advocate, has contacted schools across Reading to offer expert advice, and has already organised visits to Caversham’ s Thameside Primary and Hemdean House.
Caroline said: “The Norton Online Living Report highlights how the boundaries have blurred between the online and offline worlds and the effect this is having on our families and as individuals.
"As parents, we need to balance our concerns about child safety online while allowing children the freedom to explore without fear of what they may find.
"In order to make our children’s time online as safe as possible, there are a number of recommendations to follow.
"Installing and constantly updating Internet security software is a key factor in helping to shield our families from a variety of unwanted materials, but the protection does not stop there.
“It is important that parents fully understand the rich online world that children have access to, and are aware of the social as well as technological measures that need to be undertaken to ensure that they are protected.
"This begins with an awareness of the web sites our children now use on a daily basis, and an open and frank discussion about the online risks they face.”
See www.norton.com/uk/familyresource
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