Symantec is teaming with VeriSign and Accenture as part of its Security 2.0 strategy for protecting consumers and enterprise users from the latest and greatest security threats, which Symantec says are increasing in complexity and scope.

At a New York event on Tuesday, Symantec announced a partnership with VeriSign to support VeriSign's Identity Protection (VIP) Authentication Service, which protects users online by issuing them a password that can be used across multiple Web sites.

Symantec plans to embed VIP into a future version of Norton Confidential product, which is aimed at making online users more secure by thwarting phishing and other online attacks designed to steal personal information from users.

"When consumers are confident, they feel safe going online -- they know their identities are protected," said John Thompson, Symantec chairman and CEO at Tuesday's event. He said teaming with VeriSign gives Symantec an "infrastructure that allows us to extend" its online protection to more users.

With Accenture, Symantec has established Accenture and Symantec Security Transformation Services, an organization to which Symantec will dedicate 1,000 security professionals to build and implement data security infrastructure and services for business customers, Thompson said.

The organization will focus on compliance, overall security operations management and building more secure applications, he said.

Thompson made a distinction between security threats such as viruses and worms that he said have all but been eradicated, and new threats that are designed to steal information and data for financial profit. Under its Security 2.0 plan, Symantec will focus on phishing, identity theft and internal threats such as those that steal information and data, and noncompliance with internal policies and external regulations.

"Criminal elements are going after what is truly valuable in this day and age -- information," Thompson said. He said that nearly 60% of all organizations expect more than one major security incident each year, according to Symantec's research. "Think about the impact these breaches could have -- damage to reputation, loss of revenue and loss of customer, partner and even shareholder trust," he said.

Protecting users who come into an organization's networks from the Internet is especially important, Thompson said, and will be a major focus of Symantec's Security 2.0 strategy.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.