Symantec Helps Screen Actors Guild - Producers Pension & Health Plans Enhance Security and Realize Cost Savings of Nearly $1 Million

Market Wire, November, 2006

Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC) today announced that Screen Actors Guild - Producers Pension & Health Plans (SAGPH) is using Symantec products and services to help securely expand its online pension and healthcare services while reducing operating costs. With Symantec, SAGPH is also able to ensure compliance with regulations surrounding the protection and security of member healthcare and pension information. Leveraging Symantec's Managed Security Services, the organization has centralized its network security operations and automated administrative processes to increase efficiency. Between 2003 and 2005, SAGPH achieved total cost savings of nearly $1 million as a result of its work with Symantec.

"Keeping costs in check is important, but ensuring complete security of our members' personal information is vital to our organization," says Nader Karimi, chief information officer, SAGPH. "Our long-standing relationship with Symantec gives us peace of mind knowing that our IT environment is safe, our systems are compliant with the law, and our participant information is protected."

SAGPH offers healthcare and pension services to more than 45,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild and their dependents across the country. Headquartered in Burbank, Calif., with additional offices in California and New York, SAGPH processes more than 700,000 healthcare claims every year.

SAGPH is challenged with continually expanding its service offerings to meet evolving regulatory requirements despite budget constraints. The organization implemented Symantec's software and services to rigorously protect its network and data while streamlining network administration processes. The passage of the Pension Security Act in 2003, which protects workers in the event of the collapse of a pension plan, required that SAGPH expand its online services to include online pension management tools, real-time updates to information, online reports, and online customer support. Compounding the situation were requirements mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which safeguards the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of patient medical records.

Enhancing Network Security While Reducing Costs

SAGPH needed to improve the security of its expanding network which, over time, included an increasing number of entry and exit points. The evolving threat landscape called for the organization to hire additional staff to protect its network 24/7. SAGPH deployed Symantec Managed Security Services to monitor and manage its firewalls, network-based intrusion detection systems, and host-based intrusion detection systems. As a result, SAGPH estimates that it has saved $118,000 in labor costs and another $700,000 in cost avoidance for three IT security administrators from 2003 to 2005.

Combined with the early warning detection capability of Symantec DeepSight Alert Services, SAGPH has a comprehensive threat management system that enables it to identify and thwart potential attacks. "Together, Symantec DeepSight Alert Services and Managed Security Services automate the process of vulnerability analysis and reporting, allowing our IT administrators to spend less time troubleshooting network security issues and focus on more productive tasks," notes Kevin Donnellan, assistant chief information officer, SAGPH.

Ensuring Compliance by Securing Participant Information

To secure data and protect information at the desktop level, SAGPH uses Symantec IM Manager, Backup Exec System Recovery, and LiveState Client Management Solutions Suite. IM Manager provides the organization with powerful policy management, reliable compliance-level archiving and reporting, and comprehensive security capabilities to ensure that employees use instant messenger securely and productively.

Backup Exec System Recovery automates the process of auditing and tracking software applications and licenses, allowing SAGPH to easily monitor and manage compliance throughout its network. Using LiveState Client Management Solutions Suite, the organization's IT department can quickly deploy operating system security patches, as well as audit, provision, configure, update, and patch PCs automatically. With Symantec solutions, SAGPH has saved more than $60,000 in staff costs due to administrative efficiencies.

Centralized Management and Reduced Backup Cycles

As part of the expansion of its online services, SAGPH must be able to recover and restore electronic member information on a real-time basis to prevent disruptions and ensure 24/7 member support. SAGPH relies on Veritas NetBackup to centralize the backup and recovery process across its heterogeneous server environment -- a data network that is growing 25 to 35 percent annually. "Using NetBackup, we estimate that we've achieved a 40 percent reduction in one administrator's time spent managing backups," concludes Karimi.

About Symantec

Symantec is the world leader in providing solutions to help individuals and enterprises assure the security, availability, and integrity of their information. Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., Symantec has operations in 40 countries. More information is available at www.symantec.com .