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New VeriSign Service Raises Level of E-commerce Security for Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses
New Security Service for ISPs and Web hosting companies helps small businesses gain instant credibility with their online customers and allows their customers to transmit personal data over the Internet safely and securely
Mountain View, CA, August 20, 2001 - VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), the leading provider of Internet trust services, today announced a new service for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Web Hosts. This service enables a new class of small- and medium-sized business customers to conduct secure authenticated exchanges of information, including such confidential customer information as credit card and social security numbers.
Called Shared Hosting Security Service, this new service provides small- and medium-size businesses (SMBs) with Web site protection features that up until now had only been available to larger enterprises operating in dedicated hosting environments. The new offering, which ISPs and Web Hosts will market to SMBs under the name Secure Site Services, addresses two critical elements needed for a secure Web site: authentication of the business to be displayed at the Web address and encryption to protect the transfer of customer information. These security needs have long been met by larger enterprises operating in a dedicated environment via the use of standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology. Due to technical limitations in SSL, the benefits of both authentication and encryption were not available to millions of small businesses using a virtual server or "shared hosting" architecture.
Businesses approved to use the new Secure Site Services may display a VeriSign Secure Site Seal, the world's recognized identifier of a secure Web site, and may use encryption provided by their ISP.
"When consumers shop online, they want to do so in a trusted digital environment," said Ben Golub, vice president, VeriSign Web Trust Services. "VeriSign's service enables small- and medium-sized businesses, working with ISPs and Web Hosts, to give customers the peace of mind they deserve when shopping online. It allows businesses to display the VeriSign Secure Site Seal, so that their Web customers immediately realize that their site is a secure place to do business."
A consumer visiting a Web site will simply click on the Secure Site Seal and VeriSign will immediately check the Web site address, the business using that address, and the company given permission to host the site. Within seconds, the consumer will see a dynamic Web page that verifies that the SMB name and Web address have been authenticated by Dun & Bradstreet and that they have the right to use the ISP's or Web Host's SSL encryption - the only secure method for transferring information over the Internet. Businesses that have not been authenticated will receive an error message.
To make these services accessible to the SMB market, VeriSign has teamed with strategic partners with expertise and influence across the small business and Web site hosting landscape including Dun & Bradstreet, EarthLink, Ensim Corporation and ezWare Systems, Inc.
For large Web hosting companies and Internet Service Providers VeriSign's new service provides a valuable piece of the security solution for hosted merchants. "Our businesses want a recognizable way to show their online customers they have a secure site," said Jon Irwin, executive vice president at EarthLink. "This is great timing on Verisign's part. When we successfully integrate the offering into our existing Web hosting architecture we'll have the flexibility to optimize our IP address system and still offer secure site services to our customers."
An additional benefit is that each Secure Site includes up to $5,000 of NetSure® warranty protection against economic loss due to theft, impersonation, corruption or loss of use of an ID for both the small businesses and the Internet Service Provider or Web hosting company
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) is the leading provider of trusted infrastructure
services to Web sites, enterprises, electronic commerce service providers
and individuals. The company's Domain Name, digital certificate and
payment services provide the critical Web identity, authentication and
transaction infrastructure that online businesses require to conduct
secure e-commerce and communications. VeriSign's services are available
through its Web sites (www.verisign.com)
or through its direct sales force and reseller partners around the world.
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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, VeriSign's limited operating history under its current business structure, uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and potential fluctuations in quarterly operating results, increased competition, risks associated with the company's international business and risks related to potential security breaches. 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, especially in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2001. VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.
VeriSign is a registered trademark of VeriSign, Inc. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.