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2010-05-21 14:10:10 | |
| The $1.28 billion deal will further consolidate Symantec's assets while VeriSign focuses on Internet infrastructure and naming services. | |
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It was confirmed yesterday, after days of rumours, that Symantec is buying VeriSign's authentication services business, which includes VeriSign's Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate services, Public Key Infrastructure services, the VeriSign Trust services and the VeriSign Identity Protection authentication service. Symantec will also be acquiring the majority stake in VeriSign Japan.
The deal follows the acquisition by Symantec of other security/encryption companies PGP and GuardianEdge only weeks ago. According to Enrique Salem, president and chief executive of Symantec, "people’s personal and professional lives have converged and they want to use their various digital devices to access information wherever they are without jeopardizing their privacy." Mark McLaughlin, president and CEO of VeriSign, also thinks the deal will profit users: "The security space is consolidating in a way that favors larger players that offer lots of products and services in an integrated package," he said. "If you want to succeed in this market, you have to have a broad range of services, as Symantec does." Upon completing the transaction, some 900 of VeriSign's 2000 employees are expected to transfer over to Symantec, so there will likely be some layoffs. "Trust and identity are key to the future of securing and managing information," reads Symantec's announcement. "VeriSign is the leading provider of digital authentication services, enabling trusted interactions within and across businesses, consumers, applications, and processes. With identity security, Symantec solutions can enable information access control, enhanced data security, and better enforcement of compliance policies." While both Symantec and VeriSign are probably genuinely concerned about user privacy and Web safety, we cannot help but wonder if the centralization into one provider of multiple security services really is the best option. A security breach at Symantec for instance could theoretically be more serious than if services were fragmented into multiple providers. This situation however may ensure, as deal participants claim, that solutions are better integrated into one another, thus resulting in enhanced user experience. | |
Reference 2: http://www.darkreading.com/securityservices/security/client/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=224900430
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