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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
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. 29.10.2007, VeriSign, Inc.
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