More Than 100 Credit Unions Turn to VeriSign
to Protect Consumers Against Identity Theft
Credit Unions for Federal Agencies, Universities and Municipal Governments
Deploy VeriSign EV SSL Certificates to Help Ensure Members Can Trust
Online Transactions
Mountain View, CA – March 26, 2008 – Members of more than 100
credit unions throughout the United States can access online services
with more confidence than ever, now that the financial institutions
are protecting their Internet sites with advanced security solutions
from VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), the leading provider of Internet
infrastructure for the networked world.
Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, NIH
Federal Credit Union, University of Wisconsin Credit Union and San Mateo
Credit Union are leading the charge among institutions committed to
foiling the efforts of e-criminals and scam artists by deploying VeriSign
Extended Validation (EV) Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificates.
The credit unions are turning to VeriSign® EV SSL
because it provides an effective weapon against phishing scams that
lure unsuspecting consumers to imposter sites that appear almost identical
to the financial institution’s genuine Web pages. Identity thieves use
these fraudulent pages to capture valuable personal information, including
account numbers, passwords and credit card numbers.
By deploying VeriSign EV SSL Certificates, these financial
institutions can provide consumers using high security browsers with
instantly recognizable visible cues that help assure users they have
reached a genuine Web page.
“For us and for our members, the real currency of
doing business online isn’t money at all; it’s trust,” said Pete Kneisler,
vice president of information services at San Mateo Credit Union. “The
values of trust and community go to the very heart of the credit union
concept, which means we must do everything we can to preserve those
values. By deploying VeriSign EV SSL, we are living up to the commitment
we make with every San Mateo Credit Union member. VeriSign EV SSL is
an essential part of our online presence.”
When a financial institution or other online business
uses an EV SSL Certificate to identify itself, browsers including Internet
Explorer 7 and the latest beta version of Firefox 3 display easily understood
visual cues to provide tangible assurance of a site’s authenticity.
The address bar turns green, a lock icon appears next to the address,
and a new field displays to the right of the URL in the browser. This
field contains the name of the organization that owns the site as well
as the security provider that issued the certificate, such as VeriSign.
“Whether our members choose to conduct business with
us in person or online, we owe it to them to make the experience easy
and utterly free of even the slightest privacy concerns,” said April
Clobes, vice president of e-commerce at Michigan State University Federal
Credit Union. “VeriSign EV SSL Certificates help us to provide members
with the much-needed reassurance that they have reached the legitimate
MSU Federal Credit Union Web site. And by deploying technology
from VeriSign, we benefit from the No. 1 Internet security brand in
the world.”
“Banks, credit unions and financial institutions all
are adopting VeriSign EV SSL to help shield their valued clientele from
the devastating impact of identity theft,” said Tim Callan, vice president
of SSL product marketing at VeriSign. “VeriSign EV SSL Certificates
have proven to be a crucial asset in the effort to keep consumers beyond
the ever-present reach of phishers and e-criminals. We are delighted
to see so many credit unions employ this effective protection.”
As the most respected and trusted SSL authority on
the Web, VeriSign is the EV SSL Certificate provider of choice for more
than 3,000 Internet domains, representing greater than 75 percent of
the entire EV SSL Certificate market worldwide. In fact, over 93 percent
of the Fortune 500 – and the world’s 40 largest banks – rely on some
form of VeriSign SSL Certificate to meet their security needs. To learn
more about VeriSign EV SSL, visit http://www.verisign.com/EV-SSL
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), operates Internet infrastructure services
that enable and protect billions of interactions every day across the
world’s voice, video and data networks. Additional news and information
about the company is available at www.verisign.com.
Contacts
Media relations: Christina Rohall, crohall@verisign.com,
650-426-5219
Investor Relations: Nancy Fazioli, ir@verisign.com,
650-426-5146
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 inability of VeriSign to
successfully develop and market new products and services and customer
acceptance of any new products or services, including VeriSign EV SSL
solutions; the possibility that VeriSign’s announced new services
may not result in additional 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, 2007 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.
©2008 VeriSign, Inc. All rights reserved. VeriSign,
the VeriSign logo, the checkmark circle, and other trademarks, service
marks, and designs are registered or unregistered trademarks of VeriSign,
Inc., and its subsidiaries in the United States and in foreign countries.
All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
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