Symantec's Dublin hub, with 800 workers including 60 in its security division, plays a key part in global computer security.
Inside the tightly controlled security area of Symantec's Dublin headquarters, a screen on the wall flashes up hacking hotspots as they are detected around the world. Last year the company estimated it blocked nearly 250,000 cyber-attacks. One out of every 532 websites was infected with viruses, it said, and 1.6 million instances of malware were detected.
Overall, cyber-attacks were up 42% in 2012. They range from "hacktivist" targeting of industries such as defence to the fast-growing area of "ransomware" blackmail attempts, but more than a third of attacks focused on small- to medium-size businesses employing fewer than 500 people.
Orla Cox, the senior manager of security response at Symantec's office in north-west Dublin, said hackers – including criminal gangs, individuals and even states – regarded smaller enterprises as "stepping stones" to enable them to attack larger corporations.
Source: https://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/may/05/frontline-cybercrime-symantec