DALLAS, Oct. 1 -- AT&T today announced the acquisition of VeriSign's global security consulting business in a transaction that closed today. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.



VeriSign's Global Security Consulting Services business helps Fortune 500 companies understand corporate security requirements, navigate diverse regulations, identify security vulnerabilities, defend against and respond to attacks, reduce risk and meet business and industry security compliance requirements.



The transaction aligns VeriSign's security consulting experience in comprehensive risk assessment with AT&T's suite of network-based cybersecurity services. AT&T has long been a pioneer in the development of cybersecurity services and capabilities, with AT&T Labs and its cybersecurity organization working closely together to provide industry leading enterprise services and technology. AT&T recognizes that security cannot rest in a single layer of defense - security intelligence must be embedded in all network layers to quickly and easily determine threats to network and application performance and address risks.



As businesses continue to merge multiple forms of content - from voice to video to data -- on to a single communication network, and integrate mobility access to corporate networks, enterprise security becomes more complex. IT research firm IDC estimates the annual enterprise IT security services market in the U.S. is $11.7 billion. Within that market, IDC estimates the U.S. security consulting services market to be $3.6 billion. (1)



"AT&T delivers today's most powerful weapons to help combat cybersecurity attacks. Our network security solutions rely on three key ingredients - a scalable, reliable global IP network, security experts with in-depth, hands-on experience, and the innovation and research of AT&T Labs," said Ron Spears, President and CEO of AT&T Business Solutions.



"The combined capabilities of VeriSign's security consulting business with AT&T's global reach, networking and security portfolio will broaden our consulting and risk analysis expertise, and enable us to more quickly develop and bring to market capabilities to address the evolving security needs of businesses around the world," said Spears.



"Through the sale of the Global Security Consulting business, VeriSign continues toward its divestiture goals while aligning with buyers with complementary strengths," said Mark McLaughlin, president and CEO of VeriSign. "AT&T is a recognized leader who we believe will facilitate a smooth transition for customers and partners while presenting the most promising opportunities for our employees."



The experienced security consulting professionals joining AT&T as part of this transaction have an average of eight years of experience and 95 percent are Certified Information Systems Security Professionals. The team holds more than 55 industry certifications including CISM, ISO 27001.



For more information go to www.att.com.



Source: (1) IDC, "Worldwide and U.S. Security Services 2009 - 2012 Forecast and Analysis: Economic Crisis Impact Update," Doc # 216111, January 2009. Market size shown represents entire U.S. security services spending in 2008



*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.



About AT&T



AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T - News) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates - AT&T operating companies - are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's fastest 3G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet and voice services. AT&T offers the best wireless coverage worldwide, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse(SM) and AT&T | DIRECTV(SM) brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T's Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations are known for their leadership in directory publishing and advertising sales. In 2009, AT&T again ranked No. 1 in the telecommunications industry on FORTUNE® magazine's list of the World's Most Admired Companies.