Symantec Makes Elections More Secure With Free Service to ‘Spoof Proof’ Websites, Including Candidates & Political Organi...

Helps root out fake news and influence efforts executed through email phishing scams and other misdirection techniques ahead of November 6th midterm elections

Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC), the world’s leading cyber security company, today announced the availability of a free service, powered by Symantec’s proprietary artificial intelligence technology, that political candidates and campaigns can use to test the security and authenticity of their websites.

Attracting unsuspecting users to fake websites that contain minor, undetectable differences from legitimate websites, is a popular technique that cyber criminals use to gather personal information, such as birth dates, email addresses, and voting preferences. That data can then be weaponized to influence behavior and attitudes, spread false information, or be harvested for cyber crime. The websites of candidates, state election commissions, and other political organizations are a prime target for malicious actors seeking to influence the outcome of the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, as well as other global electoral processes.

Organizations, including candidates, election commissions and political parties, can easily sign up free of charge to have their websites checked by Symantec’s Project Dolphin spoof proof service, utilizing the company’s proprietary and patented technology. This AI-driven technology analyzes websites in Symantec’s massive telemetry and if it discovers a spoofed version of the legitimate site, the company will notify the organization with details. The free service is available now at https://go.symantec.com/spoofproof-security.

“Symantec has been focused on election security for many years, but given the gravity of the current security landscape, we are compelled to raise awareness and make it easy for relevant parties to participate in ensuring the integrity of the upcoming election,” said Greg Clark, CEO, Symantec. “The issues that plagued the 2016 election are still prevalent today and are likely to continue to persist through the midterm elections, into 2020, and into elections globally. It is important for all parties, public and private, to contribute to protecting the security and integrity of our elections and democracy.”

Along with the service, Symantec is making a variety of informational resources available to election officials, campaigns, and candidates through its dedicated election security microsite, including:

• Election Security Best Practices for poll workers, voters, and government officials
• Training videos for polling officials and workers to help them learn to spot and stop tampering efforts
• Blogs containing analysis, tips, and information related to security for voters, election officials, and candidates
• Aggregated news on election security as an easy resource

Spoofing attacks can be used to target any organization for nefarious purposes, which is why Symantec is making this service freely available for anyone interested in testing their website.

For more information, please visit https://www.symantec.com/election-security.

About Symantec

Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC), one of the world's leading cyber security company, helps organizations, governments and people secure their most important data wherever it lives. Organizations across the world look to Symantec for strategic, integrated solutions to defend against sophisticated attacks across endpoints, cloud and infrastructure. Likewise, a global community of more than 50 million people and families rely on Symantec's Norton and LifeLock product suites to protect their digital lives at home and across their devices. Symantec operates one of the world's largest civilian cyber intelligence networks, allowing it to see and protect against the most advanced threats. For additional information, please visit www.symantec.com or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180918005325/en/

SymantecLauren Armstrong, [e-mail] Eisen, [e-mail]