Symantec adds new security center

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – Symantec is building a security operations center at its Springfield facility to meet a growing demand for storing sensitive data, company officials say.

The computer security and data storage company said construction should be finished by November on the nearly 3,400-square-foot center, the Register-Guard newspaper reported Saturday.

Symantec’s 1,170-employee Springfield complex provides customer service support for large businesses, universities, government agencies and other organizations.

The main function of the new security center will be to back up sensitive data for some of Symantec’s biggest customers, said Paul Meijer, Symantec’s senior director of infrastructure operations. The facility also will be a backup for Symantec’s half-dozen other security operations centers around the world, including one at corporate headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.

Symantec was founded in 1982 and built a name for itself with its Norton antivirus software.

Cybersecurity is no longer just about keeping “something bad from happening,” said Cris Paden, a company spokesman.

“It’s not about building up a brick wall around a building, or servers, to make sure nothing can get in,” Paden said. “That’s part of it. But another part is, if you do get hit, have you backed up your information? And is it accessible in a quick and effective manner?”