L@Wtrust launches Entrust Extended Validation SSL certificates

Phishing, man-in-the-middle attacks and the increasing sophistication of cyber-criminals continue to erode consumer confidence online. The development of new technology to thwart these fraud attempts remains critical.

South African information security specialist L@Wtrust is the sole distributor of Entrust products and solutions in South Africa.

This week Entrust was the first secure sockets layer (SSL) vendor to leverage Extended Validation (EV) SSL Server Certificates - or EV SSL certificates - to turn the URL address bar green for Windows XP. Until now, the indicators for EV SSL users could only be seen by Windows Vista users. Entrust EV Certificates are expected to be an effective tool to rebuild consumer confidence in online transactions. When consumers use an EV-aware, next-generation browser such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7, it will be easy to check the legitimacy of the Web site they are visiting. Valid sites with an EV certificate will trigger the address bar to turn green, and information about the company operating the site and the certification authority (CA) that issued the certificate will be displayed.

Entrust Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Conner says consumers need greater protection on the Web. "While it's good that EV SSL certificates were able to be identified by Windows Vista, this is not what is being used on the majority of PCs today. Once we knew there was a way for Windows XP users to see the cues for EV SSL certificates, we were compelled to get it up and running on our own e-commerce site as soon as possible," he says.

Conner says the development and real-world implementation of EV certificates is an important step in the ongoing protection of online consumers from phishing and man-in-the-middle attacks. "Consumers will now have an easy way of determining whether a site should be trusted, which will hopefully result in an increased willingness to conduct more transactions online," he says.

"This easy approach to ascertaining trust can not be emphasised enough," says Maeson Maherry, business Development Director of L@Wtrust. "The real enemy here is security awareness and the average user needs simple, tangible and visual mechanisms with which the authenticity of a Web site can be seen with your standard browser. We believe that extended validation is therefore a fundamental requirement of Web site identity and security," he says.

Extended validation refers to rigorous, industry-standard validation methods to be used by a certification authority (CA) before issuing an SSL certificate. An EV SSL Server Certificate is a new category of SSL certificate created by an industry consortium called the CA/Browser Forum (www.cabforum.org). This new category of certificate was conceived in response to the growing threats of phishing and man-in-the-middle attacks. EV certificates will be issued to Web sites only after rigorous, industry-developed validation of their identity. Next-generation Web browsers will reflect this higher level of identity assurance with prominent and distinct trust indicators.