VeriSign Readies ASP-Delivered Security Services

Called Security Intelligence and Control Services, the services are designed to provide a fabric for sharing security information across a network for third-party security products linked to the VeriSign services.

As an ASP, VeriSign aims to change the way security infrastructure is managed by introducing a service that can be managed remotely, rather than requiring solution providers to spend the capital necessary to create a similar service.

"What we really built is a scalable, back-end utility that provides network services," said Stratton Sclavos, chairman and CEO of Mountain View, Calif.-based VeriSign. "We're really the first successful ASP in the market focused on security."

The VeriSign service is more robust than any other service because it leverages the DNS technology that the company added to its lineup with the acquisition of Network Solutions, according to Sclavos. That technology allows VeriSign to scan the Internet to essentially provide an early-warning system that can track attacks and predict where they will hit next.

"We built a new back end on the Internet that can now handle 1 billion DNS lookups a day," Sclavos said.

The service is ideal for the channel because it lets solution providers easily add services at a time when the average price of security equipment keeps falling, Sclavos added. "At a time when prices are going to hell, resellers are looking for a new model to add value," he said. "This is a way for VARs to get back in with something they can add value to and get margin [from] vs. a firewall or an intrusion-detection device."

Gary Cannon, president of Advanced Internet Security, a security solution provider based in Colorado Springs, Colo., said he sees a market for such a service, particularly in the enterprise space.

"The larger customers like to have advance notice of possible Internet attacks so they can tighten up their systems," Cannon said. "But I am curious as to how much of a need there really is for this kind of service [in the small- to midsize-business market]. My smaller customers may say, 'We'll just be more diligent in updating our software.' "

CHARLENE O'HANLON contributed to this story.