DigiCert Acquisition of Symantec: What Can We Expect in the Coming Years
Leading cybersecurity company, Symantec recently announced that it has sold it’s public key infrastructure (PKI) technologies and website security to DigiCert. The latter is a leading provider of scalable security solutions. The landmark sale was for a whopping USD$950 million along with a 30% stake in DigiCert’s common stock equity. According to reports, DigiCert’s acquisition of Symantec happened in the third quarter of the fiscal year 2018.
DigiCert asserted that the deal will bring together the industry’s top talent to provide enhanced technology solutions. It will also support companies with a growing customer base.
DigiCert added that their main focus remained on doing the things their customers expect from the company. These include offering unrivaled customer support, among others. “DigiCert is built on people first: as we empower our employees to solve business challenges for our customers, everyone succeeds,” read the statement.
Following the completion of the deal, DigiCert will have all the resources it needs to lead the next generation of global website security.
Symantec SSL/TLS Certificate
The DigiCert acquisition of the Symantec SSL/TLS certificate business is the company’s second in the last two years. Back in June 2015, DigiCert had also acquired the CyberTrust Enterprise SSL business from Verizon Enterprise Solutions. Among DigiCert’s customer base include IBM, Sony, Facebook VMware, Intel and Harvard University.
As for its operations, DigiCert said it will operate under CEO John Merrill from its headquarters in Lehi, Utah. It currently employs more than 1,000 staff. Following the acquisition of the Symantec certificate business, the company will bring new approaches to the TLS market and benefit from growth opportunities in IoT. Merrill had also said that they were confident the company can meet the SSL/TLS requirements that the browser vendors wanted from Symantec.
Also, it was recently announced that all certificates issued by Symantec and its partners before June 1, 2016, will need to be replaced by March 15, 2018. There will be a replacement for all other certificates until the release of Chrome 70 in October 2018.
Statement About Google
As for the issuance of certificates, in a recent statement, Google announced that while Symantec could still issue digital certificates. It was only through the infrastructure of a subordinate certificate authority (SubCA). In view of this development, apparently, some of Symantec and DigiCert’s competitors have taken action. The acquisition of Symantec has made customers concerned about potential disruptions to join them.
However, Symantec Corporation remains the world’s leading cybersecurity company. They have provided strategic, integrated solutions to defend against sophisticated attacks across endpoints, cloud, and infrastructure.
According to reports, a global community of more than 50 million people and families rely on Symantec’s Norton and LifeLock product suites. They do so to protect their digital lives at home and across their devices. In fact, one of the world’s largest civilian cyber intelligence networks is under Symantec. Such a network allows to see and protect against the most advanced threats.
As for DigiCert, it supports SSL/TLS and other digital certificates for PKI deployments at any scale. This is possible through its certificate life-cycle management platform, CertCentral®. DigiCert is the leading provider of scalable security solutions for a connected world. Its clients include companies, such as Global 2000, who have chosen DigiCert for its expertise in identifying and encryption for web servers.
Truly, DigiCert’s acquisition of Symantec has benefited both companies in a mutual manner. With the confusion between the two being clarified, you can easily determine now which Certificate Authority works best for your website. For an in-depth SSL Certificate provider comparison, you can always contact us for expert advice, should the need arises. We have the most dedicated and knowledgeable IT experts to help you out.
