It's 2001 - Do You Know Where Your Data Is?

S ecurity. It's an issue that is at the core of e-commerce for merchants, providers, processors and consumers. With unprecedented amounts of money being transferred daily through Web sites, terminals and electronic exchanges, securely conducting business over the Web is paramount to success.

According to independent analysts, cash transactions on the Internet will reach $30 billion by 2005. Is there a merchant out there today who can afford to ignore a market of this magnitude? However, to succeed in this market, merchants must be keenly aware of the pitfalls and setbacks, especially the threat of theft from electronic transactions. Customers will submit sensitive information - e.g., personal identification, credit card numbers, financial data, etc. - only if they are confident it won't fall into the hands of high-tech hackers and Internet interlopers.

To minimize risk and provide a competitive edge, one company has come up with a low-cost, proven solution for ensuring security. VeriSign, Inc., a leading provider of trust services for electronic commerce and communication, offers VeriSign Server ID to assist merchants in winning the confidence of customers, gaining loyalty and expanding market share.

Issued by a trusted third party called a Certification Authority (CA), a Server ID - also known as a digital certificate - is the electronic equivalent of a business license. As the leading CA, VeriSign has issued more than 410,000 Server IDs, inclusive of the majority of Fortune 500 companies and the top 40 e-commerce Web sites.

Before issuing a Server ID, VeriSign does a comprehensive background check on the requesting merchant, ensuring business credentials. Once merchant info is verified, a Server ID is issued as an electronic credential that a merchant can present to prove its identity and right to access information.

Part of VeriSign's Site Trust Services, VeriSign Server ID works in conjunction with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology - the industry standard protocol for secure, Web-based communication. Once installed on a server, whether it's from Apache Freeware, C2Net, HP, IBM, Lotus, Microsoft, Netscape, OpenMarket or dozens of other vendors, the merchant server's SSL is automatically activated, creating a secure communications channel between server and customer browsers.

Merchant sites can communicate securely with any customer who uses Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer or other popular e-mail programs. VeriSign Server ID provides such secure online transactions components as authentication, message privacy and message integrity.

VeriSign offers two types of SSL Server IDs providing different levels of SSL encryption power - 40-bit SSL Secure Server IDs and 128-bit Global Server IDs. According to VeriSign, 40-bit SSL Server IDs are used by more than 50 percent of Internet users and are strong enough for most intranets and lower-volume Web sites. For those Web sites needing a super strong encryption for sensitive exchange of information - credit card numbers, bank account data, etc. - the power of the 128-bit Global Server ID is the clear choice.

As part of a special offer from VeriSign, merchants can secure their Web sites for a free two-week trial. Visit their Web site at www.verisign.com/server/trial/index.html and experience confidence in e- commerce in about 15 minutes.