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CA/B Forum Ratifies Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificate Guidelines to Provide Improved Online Authentication to More Businesses For Safer Online Transactions

Comodo instrumental in enabling all verifiable businesses - including sole proprietorships - to better authenticate their identities for improved customer trust and profitability

Jersey City, NJ (June 12, 2007) - Comodo, a global Certification Authority and leading provider of Identity and Trust Assurance Management solutions, is pleased to announce that it will immediately begin offering EV SSL certificates to sole proprietorships in light of the recent ratification of the EV SSL Guidelines by the CA/Browser Forum. This first ratification, two years in the making, is a milestone in the accessibility of authentication solutions for a wider range of businesses.

EV, until now, was not available to sole proprietorships and non-corporations, as the validation process only extended to corporations registered with government agencies. This put the sole proprietors at a disadvantage, as they did not have the budgets to create consumer trust through extensive brand building programs involving advertising or running "brick and mortar" retail outlets. Comodo, initiator of the CA/Brower Forum, was one of the key advocates for the extension of EV to sole proprietors, recognizing the greater level of trust they would get from EV certificates.

Background information on EV

EV SSL builds on the trust that the marketplace has in traditional SSL protection by adding an additional layer which enables the address bar in the browser to turn green, delivering visual authentication of a site's identity. Site visitors are increasingly demanding this level of identity authentication and are apt to abandon sites that do not provide it. Since EV protects users from doing business with sites that are not authentic, these EV-protected sites can be more trusted offering greater potential conversions rates, revenue and lifetime customer value.

"We are proud to be associated with these new standards for EV," said Melih Abdulhayoglu, President and CEO of Comodo. "As founder of the CA/B Forum, it was imperative for us to make EV available to non-corporations as well. Now smaller companies can utilize this greater level of authentication to become more competitive".

Because of the stringent EV validation process, verifiable businesses will be able to obtain EV, while fraudsters will find it more difficult. Only a Certification Authority can issue EV SSL certificate, and before doing so, must:

  • Verify the legal, physical and operational existence of the entity
  • Verify that the identity of the entity matches official records
  • Verify that the entity has the exclusive right to use the domain specified in the EV certificate, and
  • Verify that the entity has properly authorized the issuance of the EV certificate

The standards also include rigorous auditing criteria which Certification Authorities must meet to ensure their compliance and be allowed to issue EV certificates.

For more information, visit www.instantssl.com.

About Comodo

Comodo, through its group of Internet security companies, is a leading Certification Authority and global provider of Identity and Trust Assurance services on the Internet.  Comodo secures and authenticates online transactions and communications for over 2,000,000 businesses and consumers.

With a global presence Comodo offers businesses and consumers third-generation solutions for intelligent security and authentication technologies that create trust online. Comodo's technological expertise includes PKI digital certification, Code signing certification, integrated authentication infrastructure services, Web Content authentication, Secure messaging solutions,  PCI compliancy scanning, SSL digital certificates including our flagship InstantSSL brand,  HackerGuardian, Banking solutions including Two Factor Authentication, and digital e-commerce services.

For additional information on Comodo - Creating Trust Online™ visit http://www.comodo.com

For more information, media representatives should contact
Judy Shapiro
Comodo
(201) 963-9471
Email: judy.shapiro@comodo.com

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