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.
- Dun & Bradstreet,
the most trusted source for business information, will authenticate
a company's existence against the D&B global database of 64 million
DUNS® numbered entities for Secure Site Seal applications on behalf
of VeriSign
- EarthLink, a leader
in Internet services for small businesses and one of VeriSign's Premier
Round partners for the launch, has signed an agreement with VeriSign,
and will work to integrate the Shared Hosting Security Service into
future offerings
- Ensim Corporation,
a Web site hosting automation company, will embed this service into
their software platform to enable Web site hosts to easily offer trust
services to small businesses
- EzWare Systems Inc.,
is a global software development company offering world-class business
applications, services and support solutions to financial institutions,
telecommunication companies and online service providers. The company
will embed VeriSign's Shared Hosting Security Service into its private-label
solutions, offering a "seal of approval" to small- and medium-sized
businesses.
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.
# # #
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.
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