News

VeriSign SSL Certificates Soar Past 4 Million Mark

In 14 Years as SSL Pioneer and Market Leader, VeriSign and Its Brands Make Trusted Interactions Possible for Millions of Web Sites and Services

Mountain View, Calif. – July 27, 2009 - VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked world, today announced that it has issued more than 4 million Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificates. The total includes certificates issued by VeriSign under all four of its SSL brands: VeriSign®, GeoTrust®, thawte®, and RapidSSL®.

Since 1995, the company has served as a trusted third party and Certificate Authority responsible for issuing and authenticating a range of digital certificates designed to protect online businesses and their customers by:

  • Encrypting sensitive information during online transactions
  • Authenticating the identity of certificate owners
  • Warning when certificates are invalid

Under its four brands, VeriSign issues, authenticates and manages a range of certificates that are vital to the secure and trusted operation of the Internet, Web-based applications, and services requiring digital IDs, including:

  • SSL Certificates. VeriSign provides secure SSL encryption to Web sites protected by all VeriSign SSL Certificates brands, enabling trusted e-commerce, communications, and interactions on Web sites, intranets, and extranets.
  • Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificates. EV SSL protection provides Web users using high security browsers with immediate visual confirmation that they’ve reached a site whose authenticity has been independently verified by VeriSign.
  • Server-Gated Cryptography (SGC) Certificates. VeriSign’s SGC Certificates enable every Web site visitor to connect using the strongest encryption for which their systems are capable.
  • Code Signing Certificates. VeriSign® Code Signing creates a digital “shrink-wrap” for code and content to protect software publishers and users when they download code and content over the Internet and mobile networks.
  • PKI Certificates. VeriSign protects enterprises, government agencies and others with a flexible platform enabling complete management of digital certificates for authentication, encryption and digital signing.

The milestone of issuing more than 4 million SSL certificates underscores how VeriSign is essential to enabling secure online transactions around the world. The company has issued more than 12,000 EV SSL Certificates, making VeriSign the far-and-away market leader with a 74 percent share of the EV SSL market. And every day, VeriSign conducts up to 1 billion Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) checks – the most timely and efficient way for Web browsers to determine whether an SSL or user certificate is still valid or has been revoked and a key indicator of secure sessions initiated using VeriSign SSL Certificates.

VeriSign also plays a vital role in Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) deployments, which use digital certificates for authentication, encryption and digital signing. In the past 14 years, VeriSign has issued and managed tens of millions of PKI certificates for thousands of customers throughout the world.

"As the world’s leading SSL Certificate Authority, VeriSign understands that when customer trust is paramount, second best is never nearly good enough," said Tim Callan, vice president of product marketing at VeriSign. "Now more than ever, in a marketplace that is truly global and increasingly competitive, protecting a Web site, application or service with VeriSign is an investment that pays dividends every day."

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) is the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked world. Billions of times each day, VeriSign helps companies and consumers all over the world engage in communications and commerce with confidence. Additional news and information about the company is available at www.verisign.com.

VRSNF 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 as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended. 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 increasing competition and pricing pressure from competing services offered at prices below our prices, market acceptance of our existing services and the current global economic downturn, the inability of VeriSign to successfully develop and market new services, the uncertainty of whether new services as provided by VeriSign will achieve market acceptance or result in any revenues, the risk that planned divestitures of certain businesses may be delayed or pending dispositions may not be completed, may generate less proceeds than expected or may incur unanticipated costs or otherwise negatively affect VeriSign's financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, and the uncertainty of whether Project Titan will achieve its stated objectives. 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, 2008, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.

Contacts

Media Relations:
Victoria Henry, vhenry@verisign.com, + 44 (0) 7920 598 016

Weber Shandwick for VeriSign:
Lydia Curtis, Lcurtis@webershandwick.com, +44 (0)207 067 0513

Investor Relations:
Nancy Fazioli, nfazioli@verisign.com, +1 650-426-5146