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07/09/2002

VeriSign may be the most important company you've barely heard of. 

Yet whenever you shop online, visit a Web site or register an Internet address, chances are you're brushing up against the Mountain View company. 

VeriSign has woven itself into the very fabric of the Internet by dominating the obscure operations behind online transactions, security and Web site addresses. 

Worried about buying a gift online? VeriSign makes sure credit card numbers aren't stolen. Want your own Web site? VeriSign will sell you the Web address. Want to open a retail business online? VeriSign will route your payments to the appropriate bank or processor. 

VeriSign wants to be the Internet's toll booth, collecting fees from all the small interactions online and in the intertwined world of telecommunications. 

That vision made VeriSign a Wall Street wonder for a time, but it's now suffering its worst year ever. 

VeriSign's shares, which soared during the dot-com boom days, and stayed healthier than most during the subsequent implosion, have recently plummeted amid weakness in the firm's domain name business. The company's stock is down nearly 90 percent in the past year, with much of the loss coming since April. 

More at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/07/07/BU178449.DTL