RSA and VeriSign To Develop Secure Wireless E-Commerce

RSA Security, Inc. (Nasdaq: RSAS) and online trust services provider VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN) have announced a strategic alliance to accelerate the development of wireless e-commerce.

RSA has named VeriSign as its preferred provider of wireless trust and validation services, and VeriSign has named RSA as its preferred supplier of software security tools for wireless developers. The companies intend to provide the tools necessary to create trusted and secure end-to-end wireless e-commerce applications.

“For wireless e-commerce to succeed, application developers and service providers must deliver at least the same degree of trust and security which people have come to expect from the wired Internet world,” commented Stratton Sclavos, president and CEO of VeriSign.

“Our alliance with RSA Security is designed to enable just that, providing world-class, globally available and supported tools and services working together seamlessly to create complete, end-to-end e-commerce solutions.”

Migrating to the Wireless World

RSA plans to initially offer VeriSign developers and service providers free RSA BSAFE software development kits, which will be designed for use with VeriSign’s WAP (wireless application protocol) server digital certificates and services to provide wireless client and channel security.

“Though still in their infancy, wireless e-commerce applications promise to become pervasive in a relatively short time, touching everyone, and may profoundly change the way we conduct our day-to-day lives,” said RSA president Art Coviello. “Our alliance with VeriSign will help propel wireless e-commerce from today’s isolated pockets of innovation to a convenient way of life for people everywhere.”

Moving in the direction of broader wireless e-commerce acceptance, RSA will create VeriSign wireless compatible versions of its BSAFE SSL-C and RSA BSAFE WTLS security products and embed VeriSign’s digital certificate root keys in its products.

About the Companies

Both companies participate in the standards creation-related WAP Forum, an international industry association that has worked with wireless information and telephony services on digital mobile phones and other wireless terminals.

VeriSign provides authentication, validation and payment services for Web sites, enterprises and e-commerce service providers to conduct trusted and secure e-commerce and communications over IP networks.

RSA Security manufactures several products to assist organizations to build secure foundations for e-commerce, including RSA BSAFE encryption, RSA Keon public key management systems and RSA SecurID two-factor authentication.

The company is also the sponsor of the RSA 2000 Security Conference being conducted this week in San Jose, California.

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