Leiden, 20 oktober 2003 – Symantec, wereldwijd marktleider in internetbeveiliging, maakt bekend dat het Safeweb overneemt, een leverancier van SSL* VPN-apparatuur. Met de deal is een bedrag van US$26 miljoen in contanten gemoeid. Door deze acquisitie beschikt Symantec over SafeWeb’s veilige extranet appliance-technologie. Deze technologie is ontworpen om de kosten en complexiteit te verminderen van het inzetten en beheren van toegangsbeveiliging voor gebruikers op afstand.
Symantec is van plan de SafeWeb SSL-gebaseerde VPN-technologie stand-alone aan te bieden op hun platformen vanaf het eerste kwartaal van 2004. Daarnaast heeft Symantec plannen om later in 2004 de clientless VPN-capaciteiten te integreren in de nieuwste versie van hun Gateway Security-apparatuur. Hierdoor is Symantec in staat uitgebreide beveiliging te leveren, zonder extra hardware bij de gateway of software op de desktop in te zetten.
* SSL = Secure Sockets Layer. Een internetprotocol dat beveiligde en geverifieerde TCP/IP-verbindingen biedt.
Hieronder volgt het gehele Engelstalige persbericht.
SYMANTEC ACQUIRES SAFEWEB
Plans to Add Clientless VPN Technology to Symantec Gateway Security
CUPERTINO, Calif. – Oct. 20, 2003 – Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC), the world leader in Internet security, today announced the acquisition of SafeWeb, Inc., a leading provider of SSL VPN appliances, for $26 million in cash. The acquisition brings to Symantec SafeWeb’s Secure Extranet Appliance technology designed to reduce the cost and complexity of deploying, managing, and maintaining secure access to remote users.
Symantec intends to offer the SafeWeb SSL-based VPN technology on the Symantec appliance platforms as a standalone offering beginning in the first quarter of 2004. In addition, Symantec plans to integrate the clientless VPN capabilities into the next version of the Symantec Gateway Security Appliance series later in 2004.
“IT security professionals and network administrators are faced with an increasingly-complex array of solutions to address today’s blended threats,” said Gail Hamilton, Symantec’s executive vice president of product delivery and response. “By integrating SafeWeb’s clientless VPN technology into the Symantec Gateway Security Appliance, we can offer the most comprehensive protection without the need to deploy additional hardware at the gateway or software at the desktop.”
“Working with Symantec, we can bring the SafeWeb technology to a broad range of customers from small businesses to large enterprises,” said Jon Chun, SafeWeb president and CEO. “SSL VPN technology is a critical component in simplifying the challenges of secure remote access and streamlining collaboration across networking boundaries.”
SafeWeb’s SEA Tsunami is an SSL VPN appliance that enables companies to selectively grant secure remote access to network resources without the need to install additional software on the remote user’s computer. Remote users can access virtually any application (Web, terminal, Outlook, Lotus Notes, legacy client/server) as well as email, file servers and printers. In eliminating the need for proprietary VPN client software, the SEA Tsunami drastically reduces the administrative cost and complexity traditionally involved in securing remote access while increasing ease of use and accessibility for end users.
About SafeWeb
SafeWeb designs secure remote access solutions that are effective, economical, and simple. Its mission is to drastically reduce the cost and complexity of securing corporate network resources for remote access. SafeWeb has been developing its award-winning technology since late 1999 and is a pioneer and leading provider of SSL VPN technology. The SEA Tsunami is a SSL-based VPN appliance that enables companies to quickly and easily extend secure remote access to employees, partners and customers anywhere, anytime without having to install any additional software on the user’s computer.
About Symantec
Symantec, the world leader in Internet security technology, provides a broad range of content and network security software and appliance solutions to individuals, enterprises and service providers. The company is a leading provider of client, gateway and server security solutions for virus protection, firewall and virtual private network, vulnerability management, intrusion detection, Internet content and e-mail filtering, remote management technologies and security services to enterprises and service providers around the world. Symantec’s Norton brand of consumer security products is a leader in worldwide retail sales and industry awards. Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Symantec has worldwide operations in 36 countries. For more information, please visit www.symantec.com.
NOTE TO EDITORS: If you would like additional information on Symantec Corporation and its products, please view the Symantec Press Center at http://www.symantec.com/PressCenter/ on Symantec's Web site. All prices noted are in US dollars and are valid only in the United States.
Symantec and the Symantec logo are trademarks or registered trademarks, in the United States and certain other countries, of Symantec Corporation. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of the individual companies and are respectfully acknowledged.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT: This press release contains forward-looking statements, including forecasts of future revenue and earnings per share, expected activities, and other financial and business results that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from results expressed or implied by this press release. Such risk factors include, among others: the sustainability of recent growth rates, particularly in consumer products; the anticipation of the growth of certain market segments, particularly enterprise security; the positioning of Symantec's products in those segments; the competitive environment in the software industry; general market conditions, fluctuations in currency exchange rates, changes to operating systems and product strategy by vendors of operating systems; and whether Symantec can successfully develop new products and the degree to which these gain market acceptance. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements in this press release. Additional information concerning these and other risk factors is contained in the Risk Factors sections of Symantec’s previously filed Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 4, 2003. Symantec assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information contained in this press release except as otherwise required by law.