Gaining the trust of online customers is vital for the success of any company that transfers sensitive data over the Web. When shopping online, consumers are concerned about identity theft and are therefore wary of providing untrusted sources with their personal information, especially their credit card details. Other types of online businesses require different but equally sensitive information. People are reluctant to provide their national insurance numbers, passwords, or other confidential personal information, or sometimes even just name, address, and phone number. Perhaps the information will be intercepted in transit, they fear, or perhaps the destination itself is manned by imposters with ill intent. The result is an abandoned transaction.
white paper
Security and Trust:
The Backbone of Doing Business
over the Internetwhite paper
Contents + Introduction 3
+ E ncryption Technology and SSL Certificates 4 Levels of Encryption and SGC 5 Levels of Authentication and Trust 5
+ Extended Validation (EV) is the New Standard for Trust 7
+ VeriSign SSL Certificates, for the Strongest Security and Trust 9
+ Conclusion 10 white paper
Security and Trust:
The Backbone of Doing Business
over the Internet
+ Introduction Gaining the trust of online customers is vital for the success of any company that transfers sensitive data over the Web. When shopping online, consumers are concerned about identity theft and are therefore wary of providing untrusted sources with their personal information, especially their credit card details. Other types of online businesses require different but equally sensitive information. People are reluctant to provide their national insurance numbers, passwords, or other confidential personal information, or sometimes even just name, address, and phone number. Perhaps the information will be intercepted in transit, they fear, or perhaps the destination itself is manned by imposters with ill intent. The result is an abandoned transaction. In fact, TNS Research reported in 2006 that 154% of online shoppers have abandoned a purchase because of security concerns. Others may overcome their fears enough to make small purchases but limit the size of their transactions for fear the money they spend will be pocketed and nothing delivered in return.Such consumer fears are very well founded. Industry body APACs reported in October 2008 that Internet shoppers are more at risk than ever of falling victim to fraudsters, and that online fraud had risen by 185 per cent in the first six months of 2008 because of an increase in phishing attacks and scams. The number of phishing incidents - has 2quadrupled in the last two years, from 5,087 in the first half of 2006, to 20,682 now.Online businesses have much to gain by taking steps to overcome customer fears. Concern about Internet fraud is a very big deterrent to sales. YouGov research reported in January 2008 that 78% of the British population worries about becoming a victim of identity theft and that 51% of UK online consumers feel businesses (banks, credit card 3companies, and web site owners) don't do enough to safeguard information online. Since fears of scams limit not only the number of transactions conducted but also their size, the potential business that can be reaped by building trust is huge indeed.Consumers too have much to gain from hurdling the trust barrier. The convenience of online shopping cannot be beaten nor can the prices. Often a consumer shopping for a particular item finds it not only on a trusted Web site but also on another site that charges less or offers other advantages. Wouldn't consumers be better off if there were a way to quickly gain trust in the off-brand site? But fear of identity theft stops many from taking advantage of these benefits-in fact, according to Forrester Research in December, 2006, 24% do not purchase online at all.Fortunately technology is in place today that helps online businesses protect sensitive customer data, authenticate themselves, and build consumer trust-technology that also helps customers differentiate trustworthy Web sites from clones produced by scam artists intent on wrongdoing.1 TNS Research, August 20062 Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/consumer_affairs/article4860081.ece3 YouGov January 2008
3white paper
This paper explores the current state of this technology and the contributions VeriSign is making to help organizations to protect critical data and instill trust for their customers. It begins with encryption and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), the technology that addresses the most obvious and oldest problem in online business-the susceptibility of data in transit to interception by cybercriminals. But with the rising sophistication of Internet crooks, encryption is no longer enough. Therefore this paper proceeds to present the issues of authentication and trust building that have recently grown critical and the Extended Validation (EV) SSL technology that addresses these issues. Finally, it presents VeriSign® solutions that deliver the utmost in all these security technologies.
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