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Press Release |
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Prevalence of Online Fraud Accelerates Demand for VeriSign® Identity Protection (VIP)
Since Launching VIP in 2006, VeriSign Reports Strong Adoption Among
PayPal and eBay Users; VIP Network Grows with More Customers and Authentication
Formats
Mountain View, CA – October 22, 2007 – As consumers and businesses
alike seek to arm themselves against online fraud, they are accelerating
their adoption of identity protection services from VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:
VRSN), the leading provider of digital infrastructure for the networked
world.
VeriSign today spotlighted the growing global acceptance
of VeriSign Identity Protection (VIP) services, announcing several new
VIP Network members and an increasingly diverse selection of authentication
device options available to consumers. Launched last year, VIP
is the most comprehensive suite of identity protection and authentication
services designed to strengthen and protect consumers' digital identities.
Successful Deployments Pave the Way
In the past year, VeriSign has completed successful
VIP deployments with companies including eBay and PayPal. The PayPal
Security Key, which is a small hardware security credential that provides
a one-time password (OTP) during log-on, has deployed in the United
States, Germany and Australia. PayPal first introduced the PayPal Security
Key in a pilot and officially launched the security key in June 2007.
“We’ve heard from our customers that they like the
extra layer of protection that the PayPal Security Key provides,” said
Mike Vergara, director of account protections at PayPal.
“We look forward to working with VeriSign to provide the PayPal Security
Key to even more customers in additional markets -- enhancing security
on the Internet and confidence in shopping online.”
eBay Live! Survey Results Point to Reasons for Popularity
The results of a June survey of more than 650 attendees
of eBay Live!, eBay’s annual user conference, underscore some of the
reasons consumers have adopted the PayPal Security Key. One in every
three respondents said they already have a PayPal Security Key, and
81 percent said their key is easy to use. When asked about additional
uses for the authentication device, 84 percent said they want to use
the key to protect their online banking transactions. Another 52 percent
would like to use their key for online trading, and 49 percent wish
to use it to provide added authentication for online interactions with
their health care providers. Other uses include online shopping (48
percent), music or video downloads (35 percent) and online gaming (15
percent).
“When we announced VIP last year, we knew consumers
and the businesses that serve them would rely on VIP to protect their
transactions from online fraud, though we couldn’t have anticipated
such a huge global demand for this groundbreaking service,” said Fran
Rosch, vice president of Authentication Services at VeriSign. “Today’s
announcement highlights the broadening reach of VIP as leaders such
as eBay and PayPal report successful deployments on three continents.
Meanwhile, the VIP Network continues to welcome new members, and VeriSign
offers more choices for consumers and businesses to conveniently protect
themselves online.”
New VIP Network Members
As more consumers have embraced VIP-enabled authentication,
more online financial institutions and service providers have signed
on to the VIP Network. Today, VeriSign announced a number of new members
of the VIP network, including Fairfax County, Va., which serves more
than 1 million residents; and OpHedge Investment Services, LLC, a fund
operations/administration service provider that joins the VIP network
through partner Brac Informatics Centre (BIC).
Utilizing a network approach, VIP Network customers
can use their VIP tokens wherever they see the VIP logo displayed.
This shared credential model gives consumers additional value by protecting
their online identities across the Web, and gives enterprises the unique
benefit of sharing transaction costs with other companies whose issued
tokens are accepted by other VIP Network members.
VIP Adds More Credential Options
Also contributing to VIP’s popularity is the growing
variety of credentials accepted by VIP Network members. Because VIP
is compliant with OATH (Open Authentication Organization) specifications,
enterprises can leverage credentials in many form factors designed to
fit their consumers’ individual needs and usage preferences.
Today, VeriSign offers stand-alone tokens such as
the PayPal Security Key, and software tokens for mobile phones. Earlier
this year, VeriSign and Innovative Card Technologies announced that
the ICT DisplayCard, a revolutionary new “smarter” payment card with
built-in identity authentication, would support VIP authentication.
The ICT DisplayCard integrates the security of a one-time password token
into a card the size of a standard credit or debit card. At the push
of a button on the back of the card, an integrated display shows a password
that changes with every transaction.
VeriSign also offers an Internet Explorer browser
plug-in for pilots enabling consumers to access VIP credentials from
their desktops. And later this year, VIP will also support SMS one-time
password credentials, an option for enterprises seeking to implement
two-factor authentication without an investment in additional infrastructure.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), operates digital 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: VeriSign Media Relations EMEA: Victoria Henry, vhenry@verisign.com,
+44 20 8600 0723
Lydia Curtis, Weber Shandwick for VeriSign, VerisignLondon@webershandwick.com,
+44 207 067 0513
Investor relations: Nancy Fazioli, ir@verisign.com,
+1 650 426 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's Identity
Protection. The possibility that VeriSign 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, 2006 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.
©2007 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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