NTT Data and VeriSign EV SSL Enable Safer Transactions at 80 Japanese Banks

Mountain View, CA – May 1, 2008 – In a groundbreaking move that signals a compelling new way for Application Service Providers (ASPs) to differentiate their offerings, NTT Data is helping multiple businesses simultaneously safeguard online transactions with Extended Validation (EV) Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificates.

This month, NTT Data, one of Japan’s largest providers of technology services, is enhancing the security protection it provides to 80 Japanese banks by deploying EV SSL Certificates from VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked world.

As an ASP, NTT Data is able to efficiently extend VeriSign’s latest identity theft and anti-phishing protection to 80 banks at once. VeriSign® EV SSL Certificates offer another weapon in the growing effort to thwart phishing scams designed to trick consumers into providing their sensitive private information through impostor Web pages. Created by e-criminals, these increasingly sophisticated and realistic pages look and act like legitimate bank Web sites, but are created solely to steal account numbers, credit card numbers and passwords.

NTT Data turned to VeriSign EV SSL because the certificates provide an effective weapon against these scams. The enhanced protection will help safeguard both NTT Data’s ANSER-WEB® (Automatic answer Network System for Electronic Request) system for consumers as well as ANSER-WEB Corporate Edition® for enterprises.  NTT Data developed the ANSER-WEB® system in 1981 as an automated way for customers to take advantage of a wide array of traditional banking services. Throughout the years, the ANSER system expanded beyond terminals to include telephone and Web access. 

“NTT Data has long been an innovator in providing services to banks in Japan, and its latest decision to protect ANSER-WEB and ANSER-WEB Corporate Edition with VeriSign EV SSL Certificates shows that its commitment to innovation is as strong as ever,” said Tim Callan, vice president of SSL product marketing at VeriSign. “As an ASP, NTT Data understands it can simultaneously and efficiently deploy a proven weapon against identity theft with a service that is crucial to 80 banks. We expect more ASPs to soon follow NTT Data’s lead, particularly as the value of EV SSL gains traction with more small to mid-size companies that rely on their ASP to keep their online services – and their customers – beyond the reach of e-criminals.”

By deploying VeriSign EV SSL Certificates, banks can provide their customers using high security browsers with instantly recognizable visible cues that assure users they have reached a genuine Web page.  When a financial institution or other online business uses an EV SSL Certificate to identify itself, the latest browsers, including Internet Explorer 7 and Mozilla Firefox 3 Beta, display easily understood visual cues to help provide tangible assurance of a site’s authenticity. The address bar turns green, a lock icon appears next to the address, and a new field displays to the right of the URL in the browser. This field contains the name of the organization that owns the site as well as the security provider that issued the certificate, such as VeriSign.

“NTT Data’s focus is to ensure that our banking industry clients serve their customers reliably and with confidence,” said Nobuo Yoneoka, senior manager at NTT Data. “In today’s online climate, achieving this requires that we constantly upgrade the security solutions we have in place with core services such as ANSER. Now, with VeriSign EV SSL protection, our clients can provide their customers with immediate reassurance that they have reached a banking site authenticated by VeriSign itself, allowing customers to bank online with trust.”

As the most respected and trusted SSL authority on the Web, VeriSign is the EV SSL Certificate provider of choice for more than 3,000 Internet domains, representing greater than 75 percent of the entire EV SSL Certificate market worldwide. In fact, over 93 percent of the Fortune 500 – and the world’s 40 largest banks – rely on some form of VeriSign SSL Certificate to meet their security needs. To learn more about VeriSign EV SSL, visit http://www.verisign.com/EV-SSL

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) is the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked world. Billions of times each day, VeriSign helps companies and consumers all over the world engage in communications and commerce with confidence. Additional news and information about the company is available at www.verisign.com

Media Relations:

Christina Rohall, crohall@verisign.com, 650-336-4663

Investor Relations:

Nancy Fazioli, ir@verisign.com, 650-426-5146

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 inability of VeriSign to successfully develop and market new products and services and customer acceptance of any new products or services, including VeriSign EV SSL solutions;  the possibility that VeriSign’s announced new services may not result in additional 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, 2007 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.

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