Extended Validation SSL Certificates

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Extended Validation SSL CertificatesA NEW STANDARD TO INSPIRE TRUST, improveconfidence and increase sales ...
INDEX
1. Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificates - solving a trust problem
2. Traditional SSL - not the assurance it used to be
3. EV SSL Standard - more trustworthy, more visible
4. Green - immediately identifiable interface improvement
5. IE7 Settings - real-time validity checks
6. EV - authenticity, integrity, validity
7. EV UpgraderT - Windows XP client benefits
8. SSL Web Server Certificate with EV - a trusted thawte solutionTM TM
1. Extended Validation SSL Certificates - solving a trust problem
Many consumers don't trust web site safety enough to complete an e-commerce transaction. The frequency ofmalicious web schemes such as phishing and pharming creates an environment of fear and reticence. Gartnerrecently reported that in 2006 41.2% of online adults in the U.S definitely received Phishing emails, 46% changedtheir purchasing and online behavior as a direct result of security concerns and 10% reduced their online spendingby at least 50%. As a result nearly $2 Billion in e-commerce sales were lost due to user concern over security.*Online commerce may still be growing but there are a significant number of people opting out or reducing theirspending due to security concerns. If you are a web business that depends on consumers trusting you enough toshare their financial, personal or other sensitive data this is an alarming trend. Identity authentication now takescenter stage in the fight to shore up consumer confidence in e-commerce.
To combat this problem, leading web browser developers and SSL Certification Authorities (CAs), including thawte,joined forces to create a new standard for web site identity authentication. After more than a year of effort, theCA/Browser Forum introduced the new Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificate. This new standard is the mostsignificant advancement for the World Wide Web's secure backbone since SSL Certificates were first introducedover a decade ago.
Extended Validation SSL Certificates offer web sites a better method for assuring their visitors of their legitimateidentity. Browser support for the enhanced features of Extended Validation SSL Certificates began with Microsoft®Windows Internet Explorer 7 in early 2007 and other browsers, such as Firefox and Opera, have announced theirintentions to follow in short order.
2. Traditional SSL - not the assurance it used to be
SSL Certificates were created to validate the genuineness of a web site because it is so easy to counterfeit abusiness on the web. In 1995, when they were invented, a standard SSL Certificate provided adequate protectionfor consumers. Times have changed; web scams became more sophisticated and these traditional certificatesmay no longer be adequate. A member of the general public can easily forget to look for the small lock icon inthe browser window and they won't necessarily recognize a fraudulent use of an SSL Certificate. Sophisticatedweb scammers easily fool some less stringent CA identity authentication practices and some web fraud sites simplyuse self-signed SSL Certificates that provide no identity authentication at all. The general public often cannotrecognize when they are presented with one of these questionable certificates. This is one reason why spoofingschemes such as phishing and pharming have become so prevalent and successful.TM TM
3. EV SSL Standard - more trustworthy, more visible
The Extended Validation SSL standard helps solve both the problem of low SSL protection visibility and lowassurance of a site's genuine identity. The CA/Browser Forum, comprised of over twenty browser manufacturers,CAs, and WebTrust auditors along with the American Bar Association Information Security Committee (ABA-ISC),worked for more than a year to create the first inception of the EV authentication process. The CA/Browser Forumcontinues to develop the EV standard and guidelines in order to improve Internet security and combat online fraud.The EV guidelines describe a set of standardized best practices that must be followed in order for an SSL Certificateto meet the requirements for Extended Validation status. Any CA who wants to issue EV SSL Certificates mustfirst pass an independent WebTrust audit confirming their use of the EV identity authentication standard p... [download for more]