Hack-free biz environment vital to attracting investors

CEBU, Philippines – Aside from a safe physical environment, creating an image of a safe net world in Cebu and the Philippines in general, is also essential in attracting multi-level companies to come and invest in the country.

Luichi Robles, country manager of Symantec Philippines (Symantec), said international companies need to assured that vital data and information on their businesses are free from unscrupulous Internet hackers.

"The Philippines has to tell these companies that their information could not be hacked," he said during a press conference yesterday at the Cebu Parklane International Hotel.

Gaining the confidence on sharing information in a connected world is the vision of Symantec, a global company that provides security, storage and systems management so-lutions to help customers-from consumers and small businesses t the largest global organizations-secure and manage their information against risks.

The company recently launched the enhanced small and mid-sized business (SMB) protection portfolio, which provides SMB customers with wider choices and flexibility for protecting the information that drives their businesses. Symantec's representatives visited Cebu yesterday to orient its distribution-partners in the province on the features of the product.

Robles said SMBs has been an untapped and unserved market for Symantec, saying many SMBs still believe that they do not need to protect the information and data of their businesses.

"But they must be made aware that their business operations can also get affected once their vital information are hacked. Symantec would want to serve the SMBs, espe-cially because most in the sector could not afford to hire their own IT (information technology) personnel," he said.

"SMBs today are handling valuable information, such as bank account details, credit car information, and customer and employee records. Having the right information at the right time can mean the difference between success and going out of business," Robles added.

Symantec Philippines channel and territory sales manager Edwin Tiotuyco said the new Symantec protection suite advanced business edition will provide SMBs with com-plete protection including endpoint and messaging security as well as desktop, laptop and server back-up recovery to ensure business continuity.

He said that according to Symantec's latest Internet security threat report, there is a continued growth in both the volume and sophistication of cybercrime attacks globally.

"Cybercriminals are going after SMBs, and those who are only using anti-virus as a security solution are not protected completely, putting their businesses at risk. Findings from a Symantec survey found of the SMBs that have experienced a cyber attack, the biggest costs reported were lost productivity and revenue," Eric Hoh, Symantec's vice president for Asia South region said.

"Symantec recommends that SMBs take a comprehensive approach in information protection which includes educating employees, safeguarding important business informa-tion, implement and effectively backup and recovery plan and securing email and web assets," he added. (FREEMAN)