Known as the Cyber Threat Analysis Program (CTAP), the service adds Symantec's R&D efforts plus knowledge to a pool of data that is collected anonymously from Symantec product users around the world.

According to the veteran IT security vendor, CTAP provides access to one of the largest commercial repositories of cybersecurity-focused vulnerability data and threat intelligence.

Combined with Symantec's other resources, the firm says that the service will include company analysts located at major customer sites to interpret and apply this resource more effectively.

The company says its Internet Security Threat Report Volume XIV - released in April - demonstrated the extent of today's cybersecurity threats.

Symantec adds that it created more than 1.6 million new malicious code signatures in 2008 and blocked an average of more than 245 million attempted code attacks worldwide every month during the year.

"Organizations today face the significant challenge of managing cyber security threats that arrive more quickly, are more sophisticated and allow for minimal time for proactive defence," said Anil Chakravarthy, senior vice president of Symantec Enterprise Services.

"Symantec CTAP mitigates cyberrisk with a comprehensive approach to threat identification, intelligence gathering and validation, and delivers timely response by seasoned professionals to protect critical client information, all supported by specialised tools to enact response," he added.