Symantec Completes Acquisition of VeriSign

Symantec Corp. has completed its
acquisition of VeriSign‘s identity and
authentication business, which includes the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
and Code Signing Certificate Services, the Managed Public Key
Infrastructure (MPKI) Services, the VeriSign Trust Seal, the VeriSign
Identity Protection (VIP) Authentication Service and the VIP Fraud
Detection Service (FDS). The acquisition agreement between Symantec and
VeriSign also included a majority stake in VeriSign Japan and was
announced on May 19, 2010.

"Enterprises and consumers alike expect simple and secure access to
information from any device, protection from identity fraud, and online
experiences that are user-friendly and hassle-free," said Enrique
Salem, president and CEO, Symantec. "The combination of Symantec’s
leading security solutions with VeriSign’s security products, services
and recognition as the most trusted brand online, uniquely positions
Symantec to drive the adoption of identity security and restore trust
online unlike any other company."

"Symantec has acquired a strong technology suite and team that we
hope to continue to leverage," said Andrew Salesky, SVP Platform
Services at Charles Schwab. "We benefit by
having a single primary security partner for our enterprise and client
facing applications, and look forward to further enhancing these
capabilities with Symantec."

Signifying Trust Online
The VeriSign check mark is the most recognized symbol of trust online
with more than 250 million impressions every day on more than 90,000
websites in 160 countries. Symantec has begun the process to transition
to a new corporate identity incorporating the VeriSign check mark. This
will include a new corporate logo, as well as a new version of the
Norton consumer logo, to convey that it’s safe to communicate, transact
commerce and exchange information online. The external global roll-out
will begin in the December quarter.

Creating Mutually Trusted Interactions Online
With the completion of the acquisition, Symantec’s current portfolio,
along with assets from VeriSign, provides the depth and breadth of
technologies to make identity-based security of information part of a
comprehensive security solution.

Integration efforts are expected to:

• Provide VeriSign’s SSL Certificate Services with Symantec
  Critical System Protection: through the sales channel. By quickly
  enabling the sales force to begin cross-selling these offerings,
  Symantec will help organizations ensure and verify a higher level of
  security on their web servers, providing users with the trust and
  confidence to do business online.
• Align the VeriSign SSL and client PKI authentications services
  with Symantec Protection Center: (SPC) to provide a unified
  enterprise security management solution.
• Strengthen user access security by expanding Symantec’s Data
  Loss Prevention solutions: and Data Insight technology : with
  VeriSign’s identity security services to ensure that only authorized
  users have access to appropriate information.
• Offer users strong authentication and give organizations the
  ability to leverage the highly-recognized VeriSign trust mark in online
  searches; by providing VeriSign VIP authentication service along
  with Norton products and Symantec desktop clients.

"Our customers’ intellectual property, data and business processes
are critical to their success. In today’s connected environment,
protecting these valuable information assets is more important – and
more challenging – than ever before," said Mark Melvin, chief
technology officer, ePlus Technology, Inc. "With the combined
security products from Symantec and VeriSign, ePlus will be able to
offer our customers a complete identity security solution that provides
them with simple and secure access to their important business
information from anywhere, while ensuring that corporate data is not at
risk."

"As identity pervades many corporate and consumer security functions,
there is a strong synergy between Symantec and VeriSign," said
Christian Christiansen, vice president of security products and
services, IDC. "As devices, data, web services, and applications
proliferate, strong authentication and identity management become
crucial to reducing risk of unauthorized information exposure,
protecting privacy, and increasing trust. The incorporation of
VeriSign’s market-leading SSL, PKI and VIP products into Symantec’s
broad portfolio of information security solutions offers the promise of
more secure interactions and transactions. By baking authentication into
its security products, Symantec can extend VeriSign’s "trusted web" to
an even greater effect."

VeriSign’s identity and authentication business will become part of
the Enterprise Security Group led by Francis deSouza.

More information on how VeriSign complements Symantec’s security
portfolio

Read also:
Symantec to Acquire VeriSign Security
Business
For $1.28 billion in cash