VeriSign Appoints Industry Veteran Ken Silva as Chief Security Officer from VeriSign, Inc.

VeriSign Appoints Industry Veteran Ken Silva As Chief Security Officer

Responsibilities Include Protection of VeriSign’s Intelligent Infrastructure Services, Advising VeriSign Customers On Latest Security Measures

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – April 18, 2005 – VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), the leading provider of intelligent infrastructure services for the Internet and telecommunications networks, today announced the appointment of industry veteran Ken Silva as the company’s first Chief Security Officer (CSO). Silva has been an employee of VeriSign since June, 2000. 

“Our customers and business partners expect VeriSign intelligent infrastructure services to be scalable, reliable and secure when they conduct communications and commerce online,” said Stratton Sclavos, VeriSign Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Our elevation of Ken to be our first-ever CSO is a reflection of the tremendous job he has done in maintaining the integrity of our global infrastructure, and we look forward to using his talents to benefit our customers and our entire corporation.”

Silva already oversees the critical operations of the VeriSign Advanced Transaction Lookup and Signaling platform (ATLAS), which is a vital component of the company’s intelligent infrastructure services. As CSO, he will be charged with establishing cross-company security measures, including security policies and auditing functions that benefit internal VeriSign system deployments as well as a wide variety of customer solutions.

“VeriSign provides critical services that allow companies to operate in the digital economy, such as SMS services targeted to carriers or security services geared to Fortune 500 businesses and governments, and VeriSign operates essential Internet addressing systems. Our customers demand that VeriSign is always there,” said Silva. “I’m extremely honored to take on the CSO role and look forward to working with all our business units and their customers, to help them implement security measures that will proactively meet their business goals for digital commerce and communications.”

Silva has more than 20 years experience in the telecommunications and security industries. Before being named CSO, he was vice president, Networking and Information Security for VeriSign. Prior to joining the company, Silva served 10 years at the U.S. National Security Agency, most recently as an executive technical director. He has held a variety of other key leadership positions, he has taught courses at the National Cryptologic School and he served 10 years in the United States Air Force.

Currently, Silva serves on the board of directors for the Information Technology, Information Sharing and Analysis Center (IT-ISAC) and is the Chairman of the Internet Security Alliance. He also advises and participates in a number of national and international committees for organizations, including the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC), the White House ISP Security Panel, the ICANN DNS Security Panel, the Network Reliability and Interoperability Council (NRIC) and the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC).

About VeriSign 
VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN) operates intelligent infrastructure services that enable businesses and individuals to find, connect, secure, and transact across today’s complex, global networks. Additional news and information about the company is available at http://www.verisign.com/

For more information, contact: 
VeriSign Media Relations: Brendan Lewis, brlewis@verisign.com, 650-426-4470 
VeriSign Investor Relations: Tom McCallum, tmccallum@verisign.com, 650-426-3744

# # #

Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign's actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, the uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and potential fluctuations in quarterly operating results due to such factors as the risk that VeriSign's announced strategic relationships, including the relationship described herein, may not result in additional products, services, customers, profits or revenues; and increased competition and pricing pressures. More information about potential factors that could affect the company's business and financial results is included in VeriSign's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.