Skip to main content

Symantec Buying Verisign’s Web Security Business

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Symantec has always been a company that believes in growing through acquisitions, and now the company is making a big one: Symantec has announced it will be paying $1.28 billion to acquire VeriSign’s Web security business, including the company’s SSL security services for securing online transactions, along with public key infrastructure and identify management and verification services. The move is a major play for Symantec, which in recent years has established itself as a major purveyor of security software for personal computers and corporate networks. Now, the company is stepping further out onto the Internet, acquiring technology and service to secure online transactions—and that ties directly into not only e-commerce but mobile and cloud-computing security.

“With the anonymity of the Internet and the evolving threat landscape, people and organizations are struggling to maintain confidence in the security of their interactions, information, and identities online,” said Symantec president and CEO Enrique Salem, in a statement. “With the combined products and reach from Symantec and VeriSign, we are poised to drive the adoption of identity security as the means to provide simple and secure access to anything from anywhere, to prevent identity fraud, and to make online experiences more user-friendly and hassle-free.”

The sale of the Web security business is just the latest in series of sell-offs from VeriSign, which in recent years has let go of its oddball mobile business (insurance and ring tones) along with a large division that managed billing for telecoms.

From the deal, Symantec essentially gets VeriSign’s SSL certificate business, along with the identity management and public key infrastructure services that support it. SLL certificates are used to encrypt and secure online transactions: connections made via SSL are shown with padlock icons in almost all modern browsers, and the technology is key to maintaining the security of not only online commerce transactions, but protecting sensitive information like account passwords, email, and other information in transit between a user’s computer and an Internet services. While VeriSign is by not means the only purveyor of SSL certificates, they are one of the major players, and the company has parlayed its lead in the field into a “VeriSign Trusted” branding that appears on a large number of major Web sites. However, VeriSign’s security business has faced increasing pressure from other company selling cheaper SSL certificate services.

Symantec plans to leverage the technology and business infrastructure not only to create a new revenue stream, but to extend the security technologies out to mobile and cloud-based computing services.

VeriSign, for its part, plans to focus on its business as a domain registrar: the firm maintains operational control of the lucrative .com and .net top-level domains, and receives a fee for every domain renewed or created in those spaces, regardless of the registrar handling the transaction.

Editors' Recommendations

Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
Best HP laptop deals: Get a 14-inch Windows laptop for $170
An open HP Spectre x360 16 sits on a table, angled so that the screen and keyboard can be seen.

HP is one of the best laptop brands out there, and they're not afraid to slash their prices. Whether you're looking for cheap Chromebook deals or powerful gaming laptop deals, HP has something to offer. Below we've collected the best laptop deals on HP computers from around the internet. Models include the Pavilion, Victus, 17z and the mighty Omen.

HP 14-inch Laptop -- $170, was $200

Read more
Apple’s cheaper Vision Pro headset may have been scrapped, report claims
Apple Vision Pro being worn by a person while using a keyboard.

Apple’s Vision Pro headset is still months away from launching, but one well-known analyst has already painted a bleak picture for the device. According to the assessment, Apple might have canceled a low-cost version of the Vision Pro, leaving potential customers in the lurch.

The news was published in a report from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who is thought to have well-placed sources in Apple’s supply chain. Previous leaks have suggested that Apple is working on a cheaper edition of the Vision Pro -- due to launch in 2025 -- to help users who can’t afford the base model’s $3,499 price tag, but Kuo thinks those plans might have been scrapped entirely.

Read more
Best Razer gaming laptop deals: Save on the Blade 14, 15, and 17
Someone using the Razer Blade 14 on a table.

Razer is a staple computing brand that gamers have learned to trust. Whether you just have a Razer headset or Razer gaming mouse, you've probably grown to start trusting the signature neon three-headed snake. Razer makes great gaming laptops because they only make gaming laptops. They're not just dipping their toes in the space. Quality comes with a price, but thankfully there are good gaming laptop deals on Razer machines. All of the Razer gaming laptop deals below come straight from their site, so you can trust that the laptop is going straight from their warehouse to you. Check out the deals below on various configurations of the Razer Blade 14, 15 and 17 gaming laptops.
Razer Blade 14 -- $1,800, was $2,000

This smallest Razer laptop still has everything you could need from a gaming computer, from the powerful components to the fun aesthetics. Inside the Razer Blade 14, you get an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX processor, which has 16  cores. The graphics card is an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060. It's a quality graphics card that will handle demanding modern games, VR and even ray tracing. It comes stock with 16GB of RAM. The screen only gets 1080p, but it has a 144Hz refresh rate that will keep your frame rate smooth. On the outside, you get a full RGB keyboard, just for fun.

Read more