Open Standards Cited in Use of VeriSign(R) Unified Authentication
as Strategic Strong Authentication Platform
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and SAN FRANCISCO, RSA Conference 2005, Feb. 17
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), the leading provider
of intelligent infrastructure services for the Internet and telecommunications
networks, today announced that Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), one of the world's
largest financial institutions, has selected the VeriSign(R) Unified
Authentication solution to support its strategic deployment of strong
two-factor authentication.
VeriSign Unified Authentication is a complete range of two-factor
authentication methods that will integrate with Bank of America's existing
technology environment, without costly additions of disparate hardware and
software infrastructure. The solution will allow Bank of America to address a
broad spectrum of internal and external security requirements with flexible
options.
That flexibility, enhanced by VeriSign's commitment to open standards, was
cited as an important factor in the agreement.
"The selection by Bank of America is of great strategic importance to
VeriSign and further validates what we have known all along -- that a
flexible, open standards approach to strong authentication is what the market
is looking for. This is an approach VeriSign has supported since the creation
of the Initiative for Open AuTHentication (OATH) a year ago." said Judy Lin,
executive vice president and general manager, VeriSign Security Services. "The
financial services sector in particular has to contend with internal
regulatory requirements and external security issues. We are excited to be
working with an innovative leader like Bank of America to address these issues
by deploying strong authentication solutions."
Rhonda MacLean, Corporate Information Security Executive at Bank of
America, cited VeriSign's mature, trusted and user-friendly technology as well
as VeriSign's commitment to open standards and interoperability, which add the
flexibility to keep improving security in the future.
"The financial services industry is moving quickly towards strong
authentication," MacLean said. "So we're delighted that VeriSign shares our
belief in open standards, which are essential for us to meet our common goal
of continually improving security -- not only for our company, but across
financial services and indeed across all industries. Strong, two-factor
authentication will clearly be an increasingly important component of our
security strategy, and we believe open standards will create the co-operation
and strong partnerships we need to protect our networks and information
today -- and tomorrow."
The company will begin by using VeriSign Unified Authentication for
internal applications and corporate clients with particular security
requirements.
VeriSign Unified Authentication consists of a software and services
solution that provides a single, integrated platform for providing and
managing all types of two-factor authentication credentials, including tokens
and smartcards. The solution integrates with an enterprise's existing
directory and identity-management architecture and leverages the VeriSign
infrastructure, dramatically reducing the complexity and cost of two-factor
authentication.
VeriSign Unified Authentication is available in an "on premise" model, or
as an "in-the-cloud" service, which is securely delivered over the Internet
for fast and easy implementation without the purchase of additional software
and hardware. Bank of America will deploy VeriSign Unified Authentication,
using next-generation tokens that will facilitate authenticated and secure
communications and transactions.
Earlier this week, VeriSign announced a series of enhancements to the
solution, including the availability of the on premise operating model, a
state-of-the-art One Time Password (OTP) device for a fraction of the price of
current solutions, and a multi-purpose authentication device that contains up
to 265MB of secure storage. All devices in the VeriSign token family will
operate on the Hashed OTP (HOTP) algorithm introduced earlier this year by
OATH. For more information on these enhancements, please go to:
http://www.verisign.com/verisign-inc/news-and-events/news-archive/us-news-
2005/page_028480.html
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. operates intelligent infrastructure services that enable
businesses and individuals to find, connect, secure, and transact across
today's complex global networks. Additional news and information about the
company is available at http://www.verisign.com.
About Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions,
serving individual consumers, small and middle market businesses and large
corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and
other financial and risk-management products and services. The company
provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving 33 million
consumer relationships with more than 5,800 retail banking offices, more than
16,700 ATMs and award-winning online banking with more than twelve million
active users. Bank of America is the No. 1 overall Small Business
Administration (SBA) lender in the United States and the No. 1 SBA lender to
minority-owned small businesses. The company serves clients in 150 countries
and has relationships with 98 percent of the U.S. Fortune 500 companies and 85
percent of the Global Fortune 500. Bank of America Corporation stock (ticker:
BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information
constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign's
actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such
forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include,
among others, the uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and
potential fluctuations in quarterly operating results due to such factors as
the risk that VeriSign's announced strategic relationships, including the
relationship described herein, may not result in additional products,
services, customers, profits or revenues; and increased competition and
pricing pressures. More information about potential factors that could affect
the company's business and financial results is included in VeriSign's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the company's Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003 and quarterly reports
on Form 10-Q. VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update any of the
forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.
SOURCE VeriSign, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.verisign.com
CONTACT:
media, Brendan P. Lewis, +1-650-426-4470, or
brlewis@verisign.com, investors, Tom McCallum, +1-650-426-3744,
or tmccallum@verisign.com, both of VeriSign, Inc.; or Betty Riess
of Bank of America Media Relations, +1-415-622-6397, or
betty.riess@bankofamerica.com
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