VeriSign, Inc. Privacy Notice for Job Applicants / Candidates

Last Updated and Effective : August 3, 2023

VeriSign, Inc., together with the relevant VeriSign, Inc. subsidiary through which you are applying, act as data controllers (collectively, “Verisign”, "we" or the "Company"). This means that the Company is responsible for deciding how we hold and use personal data about you. You are being provided with this privacy notice because you are applying for a job with us (whether as an employee, contingent worker or contractor) and we want to inform you how the Company will use the information you submit when applying for a job. For purposes of the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended (“CCPA”), this Privacy Notice also serves as a Notice at Collection.

What types of personal data are collected?

In connection with your job application, we will collect, store, and use the following categories of information about you:

  • Your name, address, email address, telephone number, or other contact information;
  • Information in your CV/resume or cover letter, such as previous work experience, education, or other information you provide for our consideration;
  • Information you have provided on our application form, including name, title, address, telephone number, personal email address, employment history, qualifications, contact information for referrals provided by you;
  • Type of employment sought, desired salary, willingness to relocate, or other job preferences;
  • Information you provide to us during an interview; and
  • Information obtained from ordinary background checks.

We may also collect, store and use the following "special categories" of more sensitive personal data:

  • Information about your race or ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, and political opinions; and
  • Information about criminal convictions and offenses.

How will your personal data be used?

Having received your completed application, we will use the information we collect about you to: (i) assess your skills, qualifications, and suitability for the work or role; (ii) carry out background and reference checks, where applicable; (iii) communicate with you about the recruitment process; (iv) keep records related to our hiring processes; and (v) comply with legal or regulatory requirements.

Our legal bases for collecting and processing your personal data are consent, legitimate interest, and for the purpose of entering into a contract. We will first assess if you meet the basic requirements for the role, invite you for an interview and then whether to offer you the role. If we decide to offer you the role or work, we will then take up references and/or carry out a criminal record and other background checks as appropriate before confirming your selection. If we decide to offer you the role, we also need to process your personal data to hire you or, where applicable, to enter into a contract of employment.

We do not sell your personal data or share it for advertising purposes.

How will your sensitive personal data be used?

We will use your particularly sensitive personal data in the following ways: (i) we will use information about your health and disability status to consider whether we need to provide appropriate adjustments or accommodations during the recruitment process; and (ii) we will use information about your race or national or ethnic origin, religious, philosophical or moral beliefs, or your sexual life or sexual orientation, to ensure meaningful equal opportunity monitoring and reporting. Information that the Company uses for these purposes will be collected on an anonymized basis. Candidates are entirely free to decide whether or not to provide such information and your application will not be affected either way.

What if you fail to provide information?

Providing certain information is optional; however, if you fail to provide information which is necessary for us to consider your application (such as evidence of qualifications or work history), we will not be able to process your application successfully. For example, if we require a credit check or references for the role and you fail to provide us with relevant information, we will not be able to take your application any further.

Who has access to your information?

We will disclose your information to members of our Human Resources (“HR”) team, based in the United States, and the relevant team managers responsible for the role for which you are applying. We disclose your information in order for them to make hiring decisions. It may also be necessary from time to time for us to disclose your information to third-parties for the purposes of processing your application, including without limitation to the following:

  • Third-parties or agents who assist in the administration, processing and management of certain activities pertaining to prospective employees including external reference agencies (such as employee vetting and screening agencies) and travel and expense management service providers;
  • Individuals or companies employed by Verisign to carry out specific services, functions or consultancy work and other financial institutions;
  • Relatives or legal representatives of prospective employees;
  • Regulatory bodies to whom we are obliged or required to disclose information, government bodies and agencies or courts and court-appointed persons; and
  • Other support service providers necessary to support the organisation in the services listed.

All our third-party service providers are required to take appropriate security measures to protect your personal data in line with our policies. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes. We only permit them to process your personal data for the specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.

Where does your information go?

Due to the global nature of our business, the information that we collect from you for the purposes described above may be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”) or China, including the U.S. and Switzerland. Your information may also be processed by staff operating outside the EEA or China who work for us or for one of our third-party suppliers who act on our behalf.

Verisign is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (EU-U.S. DPF), the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF, and the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (Swiss-U.S. DPF) (collectively, the “DPF”) as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the transfer of personal information from the EEA, UK and Switzerland to the U.S. We will also ensure appropriate safeguards are in place with any suppliers who act on our behalf to protect the privacy and integrity of such information, including, where appropriate, safeguards in the form of Standard Contractual Clauses governing the transfer of personal data. You can obtain information concerning such safeguards from the Company, where applicable.

What data security measures are in place for your information?

Verisign has put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your information from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorized way, altered, or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties who have a business need-to-know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected breach where we are legally required to do so.

How long will your information be kept?

Successful applicants

If your application for employment or engagement is successful, personal data gathered during the recruitment process will be transferred to our HR management system and retained during your employment in accordance with the Company’s data retention processes and policies.

Unsuccessful applicants

If your application for employment or engagement is unsuccessful, we will hold your data on file for 12 months after the end of the relevant recruitment process to the extent necessary to enable the Company to comply with any legal obligations or for the exercise or defense of legal claims (subject to any applicable legal or regulatory obligations to retain such information for a longer period). At the end of that period, or if you withdraw your consent prior to this, we will destroy your personal data in accordance with our data retention processes and policies and any applicable laws and regulations. In the event that any court actions or other legal proceedings are pending or impending, personal data will be deleted after termination of the court action or legal proceeding as appropriate.

What are your rights?

Under certain circumstances, by law you have the right to:

  • Request access to your personal data (commonly known as a "data subject access request"). This enables you to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Request correction of the personal data that we hold about you. This enables you to have any incomplete or inaccurate information we hold about you corrected.
  • Request erasure of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it. You also have the right to ask us to delete or remove your personal data where you have exercised your right to object to processing (see below).
  • Object to processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party) and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on this ground. You also have the right to object where we are processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes.
  • Request the restriction of processing of your personal data. This enables you to ask us to suspend the processing of personal data about you, for example if you want us to establish its accuracy or the reason for processing it.
  • Request the transfer of your personal data to another party.

If you want to review, verify, correct, or request erasure of your personal data, object to the processing of your personal data, or request that we transfer a copy of your personal data to another party, please contact Verisign Recruiting by email at careers@verisign.com or by phone (in the United States) at 1-800-255-2218. You should use all reasonable efforts to keep us informed of any changes to your personal and special personal data.

What if you have questions?

If you require any further clarification regarding this privacy notice, please contact Verisign Recruiting by email at: careers@verisign.com.

Verisign has also appointed a Data Protection Officer (“DPO”) to oversee compliance with this privacy notice. If you have any questions about this privacy notice or how we handle your personal data, please contact the DPO by email at: dpo@verisign.com.