AT&T to acquire VeriSign security business

Looking to beef up its network-based enterprise security war chest, AT&T announced it will acquire VeriSign's global security consulting business. Terms of the deal, however, have not been revealed.

Although AT&T already has a suite of managed security services for its wireline business, customer demand for its enterprise mobility products has driven a need for enhanced enterprise security both within and outside the corporate walls. In addition to its security experience, AT&T instantly will gain access to VeriSign's large Fortune 500 customer base. VeriSign currently works with large enterprise customers to identify network security threats, to coordinate responses to attacks, and to work on security compliance.

While adopting mobility services may increase an enterprise's productivity, it makes managing network security a more difficult task. AT&T is looking at this problem as an opportunity. And the company's thinking is not off base. IDC reports that the overall U.S. IT security market alone is $11.7 billion, while the security consulting market is $3.6 billion.

For more:
- see the release here
- Xchange has this article

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