VeriSign Unveils Major New Technologies and Trust Services for Wireless E-commerce Technology Firsts and New Industry Alliances Bring Internet Trust Infrastructure to Wireless World
San Jose, CA, RSA Conference 2000 -- January 17, 2000 - VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN), the leading provider of Internet trust services, today announced a revolutionary suite of new technologies, services, and key industry alliances to accelerate the deployment of next-generation e-commerce applications over the wireless Internet. Industry leaders in wireless-including BellSouth, Research In Motion, RSA Security, Sonera SmartTrust, and others-have teamed up with VeriSign and its network of 22 global affiliates to deliver a broad range of solutions for wireless e-commerce. (See related releases dated January 17, 2000). VeriSign is also scheduled to announce a major strategic relationship in the wireless arena at a press conference later today at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, CA.
"The Wireless Internet is poised for explosive growth and, like the wired world, requires a 24x7 global trust infrastructure to make it safe for e-commerce," said Stratton Sclavos, VeriSign's president and CEO and a featured keynote speaker at the RSA Conference 2000. "With today's across-the-board industry-firsts, VeriSign is uniquely positioned to enable the same level of trust for the wireless revolution as it has for the wired Internet."
Analysts predict explosive growth for the mobile device market, with most predicting one billion mobile phones in use within the next three to four years. According to Gartner Group, mobile phones are expected to be the most common client device worldwide by 2005. Given their portability, mobile devices provide the ideal platform for delivering high-value services such as e-banking, stock trading, instant messaging, and health care applications, anytime, anywhere.
"We have selected VeriSign's leading Internet trust services for mobile prescription fulfillment services to enable both the authentication of doctors and pharmacists and to protect the integrity of the transactions," said Chris Blackley, CEO of DCH Health, a leading application services provider (ASP) focused on the pharmaceutical industry. "By delivering scalable solutions for today's advanced mobile devices, VeriSign is leading the way in bringing trusted e-commerce to a whole new range of customers, service providers and industries."
Industry-First Wireless Trust Technologies Lay the Foundation
VeriSign today is introducing a new suite of innovative technologies specifically tailored to the unique architecture of the wireless Internet. These include:
Wireless Personal Trust Agent (PTA) - transparent micro-client code which can be embedded in handheld devices, to enable seamless use of private keys, digital certificates, and digital signatures;
Short-Lived wireless server certificates - a new generation of wireless-optimized "mini-digital certificates," which provide both strong authentication and real-time certificate validation for low-footprint handhelds;
Gateway-assisted SSL - a state-of-the art trust model which enables network service providers to substitute wireless certificates for existing SSL certificates, leveraging the Internet's existing SSL infrastructure and providing subscribers with seamless, secure mobile communications; and
ú Gateway-assisted PKI - a unique new roaming model which allows small-footprint devices to digitally sign transactions by storing subscriber certificates in a gateway directory, mapped to and accessible only by the subscriber's private key.
New Wireless Trust Services for a Broad Range of Customers
VeriSign has combined its new wireless trust technologies with its proven trust infrastructure to deliver a new suite of wireless trust services, which include:
Subscriber Trust Services-for individuals engaged in secure messaging and transactions using wireless handhelds;
Server/Gateway Trust Services - for e-businesses operating wireless servers and gateways, to deliver secure applications over wireless networks (free VeriSign trial WAP server certificates, introduced in December, 1999, are also available for customers using Motorola, Nokia, and Phone.com WAP servers);
Developer Trust Services - for developers to both digitally protect downloadable content and enable wireless applications;
Enterprise Trust Services - for e-businesses providing wireless B2B and B2C services such as e-banking, e-brokerage, e-healthcare and e-messaging; and
Service Provider Platforms - for network operators and application service providers (ASPs) to offer a complete range of VeriSign-based wireless trust services.
New Transaction Services Round Out Wireless Offerings
Expanding upon its authentication, payment and validation services for trusted e-commerce, VeriSign will also deliver a range of unparalleled transaction services uniquely tailored to the wireless Internet, including:
Wireless Validation Services - providing an innovative model for real-time certificate validation (based on short-lived wireless certificates and gateway-assisted SSL), in addition to digital receipt capabilities; and
Wireless Payment Services - bridging the gap between wired and wireless payment applications, payment types, and payment processors.
More on VeriSign's new wireless technologies and trust services can be found in a white paper entitled "Secure Wireless E-Commerce with PKI from VeriSign", available on the VeriSign Web site at www.verisign.com.
Industry-Leading Alliances Pave the Way
Recognizing the growing importance of wireless e-commerce, industry leaders have joined with VeriSign to create trusted solutions for wireless transactions and communications (see related releases dated January 17, 2000). Highlights include the following:
BellSouth will leverage VeriSign's wireless trust services to create a platform for e-commerce providers to develop and deploy a broad range of trusted applications and services for the wireless market;
Research In Motion (RIM) will work with VeriSign to enable secure transactions and communications for RIM handhelds, has named VeriSign a preferred provider of PKI and trust services, and will embed VeriSign's digital certificate root keys as the default root keys in its handheld devices;
RSA Security will deliver a new wireless-enabled toolkit, has named VeriSign its preferred provider of wireless trust and validation services, will embed VeriSign's digital certificate root keys in its products, and will support VeriSign's new Wireless PTA and short-lived certificates in its offerings; and
Sonera SmartTrust will integrate its SIM card and PKI platform with VeriSign's enterprise trust services to enable banks, brokerages, and other providers to deliver wireless e-commerce applications linked to GSM and other phones.
Additional partnerships with leading wireless e-commerce players will be announced throughout the week of the RSA Conference 2000.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq:VRSN) is the leading provider of Internet trust services -including authentication, validation and payment - needed by Web sites, enterprises and individuals in order to conduct trusted and secure electronic commerce and communications over the Internet. VeriSign's digital certificate services for Web sites, WAP sites, developers and consumers are available through the company's Web site at www.verisign.com and through over 3200 ISPs and Web hosting companies. The company's digital certificate services for enterprises and electronic commerce service providers are available through regional account representatives, resellers, and VeriSign global affiliates. |
