Most of us with issues with Norton Secure VPN (taking an enormous amount of CPU cycles even when not being used or turned on) are talking about the one that is embedded in Norton 360 For Mac (8.6.7 and higher), and NOT the standalone product.
Since this component is not separately removable nor can be rendered harmless, the actual issue is with the Norton 360 product itself--so, any threads about this component need to stop being removed from the Norton 360 For Mac Forum, as the issue is being confused, and is likely resulting in Norton not fixing the actual issue.
I have noticed it both times while I'm flying and watching a movie. Whether I leave the WiFi connection turned on or off (and obviously there is no WiFi to be had), Norton Secure VPN is going like gangbusters and sucking down my battery to exhaustion in around 2 hours. I have never used VPN, and have it removed from my Login Items (where it showed up, albeit never being used).
You can't tell me that Norton isn't aware of this issue, but like so many things Mac, we are treated as lesser despite spending the same big bucks for the product as Windows users.
I have noticed this issue happens when your internet connection is not stable. That's the only time I have noticed this issue. Maybe they have not been able to repro this issue or maybe they are giving little to no priority for macOS users which can be seen from the differences in versions of Norton 360 for macOS and Windows.