This is the Press Release regarding VRSN's contract with the IRS (From VRSN's web site posted today)
VeriSign Wins Contract as the Provider of Digital Certificates and Public Key Infrastructure for IRS Electronic Tax Administration
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF., SEPTEMBER 8, 1998 -- VeriSign, Inc., (NASDAQ: VRSN) the leading provider of public key infrastructure (PKI) and digital certificate solutions, today announced that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) awarded VeriSign a contract for an Electronic Tax Administration (ETA) PKI pilot that will enable secure e-mail and electronic filing (e-filing) of individual tax returns. The IRS will take advantage of VeriSign OnSiteSM, which allows enterprises or government agencies to quickly and cost effectively deploy a fully operational PKI. The contract provides an option for an e-filing pilot for IRS employees. For this pilot, VeriSign will provide its OnSite digital certificate and PKI infrastructure in conjunction with tax-filing applications from VeriSign's partners Intuit and UWI.Com. Successful completion of the pilot will provide the IRS ETA an alternative way to minimize the reliance on paper-based signatures and increase the number of taxpayers filing their returns electronically.
"We're committed to providing the American taxpayer the convenience and ease-of-use of electronic filing while maintaining the privacy and integrity of individual taxpayer data," said Steve Holden, national director, Electronic Program Enhancement. "Gaining familiarity with PKI will help us determine how this technology can be applied to electronic transactions with taxpayers."
In an ongoing effort to streamline key processes while simultaneously reducing costs, federal agencies are embracing the benefits of intranets, extranets and the Internet to communicate and transact with employees, citizens and trading partners. The large and disparate community of users, diverse hardware and software systems, and massive aggregates of data make the Federal government a well-suited environment in which to deploy solutions based on open networks and interoperability. However, in order to fully embrace and leverage these solutions, government agencies need to ensure that their applications are secure and authentic. VeriSign digital certificates provide significantly stronger security for access control than usernames and passwords; serve as non-forgeable electronic identity badges for users to access government services and benefit information on-line; and provide confidentiality and authentication of internal and external communication including e-mail, electronic form and a broad variety of other applications.
Currently, most taxpayers who submit their returns electronically must also file a hard copy with a handwritten signature to authenticate the return. With the move to digital signature applications, the IRS will minimize the reliance on paper-based signatures offering taxpayers a true electronic filing option. Additionally, this application could provide taxpayers the convenience of filing over the Internet while still giving them the confidence that their tax returns are protected from tampering, will be received on time and will not be modified en route.
Competing with other providers of digital certificate technology for the IRS ETA contract, VeriSign was awarded the two-year agreement as the sole provider of digital signatures and PKI infrastructure for the IRS ETA PKI pilot to test and evaluate the use of digital signature applications. Under this pilot, VeriSign will provide the full PKI functionality required to issue and manage the IRS ETA digital certificates. Pilot roll-out will begin in October 1998.
"We're proud to partner with the IRS in reengineering the way taxpayers file their annual returns," said Nick Piazzola, VP of VeriSign's Federal Markets Division. "The IRS joins a growing number of corporate and government customers choosing VeriSign's enterprise PKI solution to secure their intranet, extranet and Internet business applications."
In Phase 1, VeriSign will assist the IRS in evaluating the technologies, businesses, policies, and procedures of deploying a PKI in support of electronic tax filing. Initial applications in Phase 1 will focus on signature-based secure e-mail with up to 200 IRS employees participating in the e-mail pilot.
Phase 2 will focus on an expanded PKI evaluation with an option to implement up to two e-file applications from VeriSign's partners Intuit or UWI.COM with up to 5000 IRS employees participating in the electronic tax filing pilot. The IRS ETA PKI pilot will be available for IRS employees to file their 1999 tax returns.
VeriSign OnSite
VeriSign OnSite allows enterprises and government agencies to quickly and cost-effectively deploy a fully operational PKI to establish itself as a certificate authority (CA). OnSite allows government agencies to customize digital certificates for use by employees, customers or business partners to securely access intranet and extranet applications and to digitally sign and encrypt electronic mail. OnSite combines front-end PKI software with VeriSign's highly scaleable certificate processing services, including full audit and archive capabilities, data and network security, disaster recovery, and customer service - providing organizations with full control over the digital certificate authentication, issuance and lifecycle management process. The solution also enables organizations to issue certificates under their own private hierarchy or as part of the VeriSign Trust Network - the world's largest network of interoperable digital certificates. Since OnSite is based on Open PKI, enterprises and government agencies can gain broad interoperability, rapid time-to-market, significant cost savings, and scalability across intranet, extranet and Internet commerce applications - benefits unattainable with proprietary, stand-alone PKI software.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) is the leading provider of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and digital certificate solutions used by enterprises, Web sites and consumers to conduct secure communications and transactions over the Internet and private networks. VeriSign's enterprise PKI solutions are available through VeriSign regional account representatives, resellers, and global affiliates. The company's Digital IDs and Secure Server IDs are available through the company's Web site at www.verisign.com. For more information visit VeriSign's Web site at verisign.com.
Intuit Inc.
Intuit Inc., a financial software and Web-based services company, develops and markets Quicken, the leading personal finance software; TurboTax, the best-selling tax preparation software; and QuickBooks, the most popular small business accounting software. Intuit's Quicken.com (www.quicken.com) offers a complete set of personal finance news, information, and tools, including the leading mutual fund and insurance sites. Intuit's products and services enable individuals, small businesses, and financial professionals to better manage their financial lives and businesses.
UWI.COM
UWI.Com, developer of the first Internet forms software, is a leader in the Internet forms software industry. The company's InternetForms System helps businesses develop cost-effective, Internet-based business forms to replace traditional paper forms, thus saving time and money. Unlike many publishers, UWI.Com offers its forms language to the public as a common standard for business forms on the Internet. InternetForms have been deployed by certain Global 2000 and public sector clients, including the U.S. Department of Defense. UWI.Com's partners include such companies as VeriSign, Datakey, Action Technologies, and Intelligent Environments. Interested parties may learn more about UWI.Com and its product through the company's web-site at uwi.com or by calling 1-888-517-2675.
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All rights reserved. VeriSign is a registered trademark exclusively licensed to VeriSign, Inc. OnSite is a service mark of VeriSign, Inc. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.
Editorial Contacts:
Kelly Brieger
VeriSign
(650) 429-3424
ryan@verisign.com
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