Posted: 4 Min ReadFeature Stories

Some Legends Are True

How two pioneering cybersecurity legacies continue to redefine cybersecurity for all

Uniting two industry powerhouses is no small feat. Especially when you aren’t merging two companies into one, but bringing them together to maximize their unique strengths and complementary portfolios. And these weren’t just any companies—these were legends. 

When we faced the historic challenge of joining Symantec and Carbon Black to create Broadcom’s new Enterprise Security Group, we were well aware of how pivotal this change could be for the organizations we serve and the industry at large. That’s why we’ve been careful to honor the individual legacies of these two brands, even as we align our two impressive portfolios and relentlessly innovate to deliver the industry’s most comprehensive set of market-leading solutions. 

Two security pioneers emerge 

Symantec

As one of the cybersecurity OGs, Symantec has been a driving industry force for more than 40 years. Founded in 1982, Symantec initially focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing. Then two years later, Symantec merged with C&E Software and pivoted to software development. After Symantec acquired Peter Norton Computing in 1990, Symantec set its sights on corporate security. 

Through the 1990s and early 2000s, Symantec made strategic acquisitions, including snapping up market-leading security solution vendors such as Vontu, Elastica, Blue Coat, Skycure, Fireglass, Javelin, Luminate and Bay Dynamics. These competitive moves resulted in technology acquisitions that established Symantec as pioneers in endpoint protection, data loss prevention (DLP), email security, Secure Web Gateway (SWG) and Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB).

Eventually, Symantec industry presence garnered the attention of tech giant Broadcom, which added Symantec to its own portfolio in 2019.

Carbon Black

In 2002, Bit9 was founded on a U.S. government hunch that the traditional, “negative” approach to security (as defined by a default reliance on stopping known threats) would ultimately fail, and a zero-trust, positive security model was needed to supplement traditional negative security tools. Carbon Black began in 2011, founded by a group of NSA offensive hackers who, recognizing that front line antivirus solutions weren’t enough to stop sophisticated threats, spawned the idea to proactively record and centrally store all endpoint activity and data. 

Seeing the massive potential in these complimentary offerings, Bit9 merged with Carbon Black in 2014 and later acquired Confer in 2016, introducing the first comprehensive Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solution. This success eventually led to VMware purchasing Carbon Black in 2019.

Broadcom creates a new legend

Fast forward to 2023 when Broadcom acquired VMware and in 2024, Broadcom reversed its plan to spin off Carbon Black and instead brought the company and its products into a unique cybersecurity portfolio delivered by Broadcom’s new Enterprise Security Group. 

With the full R&D and marketing backing of Broadcom, this new group offers a chance for both portfolios to shine and address organizational needs of all shapes and sizes. Instead of costly, all-in-one offerings that include mediocre, check-the-box solutions, Broadcom provides an array of market-leading solutions that fit virtually any price point–and more importantly, pain point. 

Symantec delivers endpoint, data and network protection at scale, while Carbon Black Cloud opens the door to leading endpoint security for smaller organizations. Together, this combined portfolio provides wall-to-wall security that fights sophisticated threats, builds security resilience and makes life easier for security teams. 

Enterprise-grade security for all

The cybersecurity landscape has changed in recent years. Advanced attackers are no longer saving their ammo for the big enterprises. Easy-to-access ransomware kits and expert threat actor services are a boon for less experienced attackers looking to get their feet wet in the field. And small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are fast becoming a common target, which means essentially any operation is at risk. 

To help SMBs and small enterprises wage a proper defense against these evolving threats, we’ve transformed our delivery model to democratize enterprise-grade security protections for organizations of all sizes, industries, tech stacks, resources, capabilities and compliance mandates. No matter where a business is on their security maturity journey, we meet them where they are with what they need:

  • Endpoint security: endpoint security with Adaptive Protection, EDR, application control, breach assessments
  • Cloud security: Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), CASB.
  • Data security: Data Loss Prevention (DLP) on premise and cloudNetwork Security: Web isolation, advanced threat detection

Tried, trusted and true 

Delivering on this vision takes a coordinated effort that extends beyond our own boundaries. Our answer: Launching the Catalyst Partner program, a global network of local partners and experts specially trained to guide and support organizations with Symantec and Carbon Black solutions. Equipped with everything they need to deliver our solutions within their geographies, Catalyst Partners work directly through their own channels to navigate customer deployment, ensure adoption, measure success and support all our products. 

But our innovation engine doesn’t idle. We’re working tirelessly to test, refine, question and evolve our technology to withstand today’s threats. We can do this because we’re backed by one of the largest and most committed R&D operations in technology today and supported by a parent company whose market value exceeded $1 trillion in December 2024.

Symantec and Carbon Black customers around the world trust and rely on us for the strongest defenses. Quality is paramount—and our customers know we will never stop fighting for them. These are truths, and you can rely on them.

Ready for anything

Throughout this decades-long, legendary journey we’ve learned an undeniable fact: in cybersecurity, you have to be ready for anything. We’re bridging our past achievements with future innovations so our customers can pivot, evolve and outpace the next unknown threat. Because whatever is coming, we’ll be here to meet it head on—like we always have.

Because some legends are true.

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About the Author

Monica White

Chief Marketing Officer, Enterprise Security Group, Broadcom

Monica White is Chief Marketing Officer for Broadcom’s Enterprise Security Group, which offers cybersecurity solutions from Symantec and Carbon Black. She has spent more than two decades in cybersecurity working to make the world safer and more secure.

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