MCI and VeriSign join forces to deliver best-in-class security services to businesses

MCI and VeriSign, Inc. today announced they have joined forces to deliver best-in-class security solutions for businesses worldwide. Further extending MCI`s global security services portfolio, this alliance will offer the strength of VeriSign`s Intelligence and Control(sm) Services to enterprise and government customers that want to bolster their security defenses.

VeriSign and MCI will consult with MCI customers to seamlessly deliver integrated security solutions, including custom offerings and a new strong authentication service, to meet their increasing need for advanced solutions. Leveraging VeriSign`s expertise, scale and infrastructure, MCI will address the complexity of customers` next generation converged networking environments to provide comprehensive solutions that simultaneously protect data and voice applications.

"Security is top-of-mind for every CIO," said Jonathan Crane, MCI president of strategy and alliances, wholesale and international. "MCI and VeriSign share a legacy helping companies navigate the ever-increasingly IP world. Our new alliance will help businesses identify and implement the right set of measures to meet their evolving security requirements above and beyond the traditional `one size fits all` approach."

Available in May 2004 to U.S.-based companies, this alliance will enable MCI Internet customers to utilise one provider to tap into a variety of custom security capabilities and offerings. These offerings are ideal for MCI Advantage, Internet Access, Data Center and MCI Solutions customers that want stronger and/or more proactive protection to further secure their networks carrying voice and data traffic as well as their transaction, commerce and communications applications.

One of the MCI-VeriSign solutions will be a new co-branded strong authentication service that will be available in May. With this offering, Managed PKI, MCI customers can rapidly incorporate digital certificate-based authentication, privacy and non-alterable digital-signatures into their existing email and Web applications, directories and virtual private network (VPN) devices- without the delays and expense of changing their IT infrastructure. So that companies can remain focused on their core competencies, MCI also provides 24/7 support as well as full monitoring and reporting tools.

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"The convergence of telecommunications and computing is fast becoming a reality for many businesses, and this relationship serves to underscore the importance of security in this new, highly complex networked environment," said Judy Lin, executive vice president and general manager, VeriSign Security Services. "By working together, VeriSign and MCI will deliver advanced, integrated security services that enable enterprises to keep pace with rapidly emerging, and increasingly malicious, set of security threats."

"The open nature of IP and wireless technologies presents a range of new security issues that simply didn`t exist in a traditional circuit-switched environment," said Bryan van Dussen of The Yankee Group. "With services originating from anywhere, anytime using a range of devices and traversing multiple networks, companies are increasingly looking for a provider that brings a combination of IP, telephony and deep security expertise to the table. These two Internet powerhouses working together will uniquely fit that bill."