New VeriSign service raises level of e-commerce security

[August 21st 2001]

VeriSign has 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.

"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. 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.

Links
VeriSign		http://www.verisign.com