VeriSign and Trans Union Form Strategic Relationship to Deliver Online Authentication Services
Enterprises, Net Marketplaces and Financial Institutions Can Now Reliably Identify Customers and Trading Partners Via One of the Largest Consumer Information Verification Database
SOURCE: VeriSign, Inc.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Oct. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Gartner Symposium, ITxpo 2000 -- VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN - news), the leading provider of Internet trust services, and Trans Union LLC, a worldwide provider of information and decision-processing services, today announced a strategic relationship that will deliver Internet authentication services thereby enabling enterprises, financial institutions, exchanges, and portals to reliably identify participants and then issue them business credentials that permit access to sensitive information and to engage in binding transactions. VeriSign's relationship with Trans Union is to establish a new single-network source that provides authentication services over the Internet. As part of the companies' agreement, VeriSign has named Trans Union a preferred provider of digital certificate services. VeriSign also announced today its new outsourced Authentication Service Bureau. (See related release, ``VeriSign Introduces New Scalable Internet Authentication Service Bureau-a 'One-Stop' Source for Online Authentication of Businesses and Individuals Engaged in E-Commerce Transactions,'' dated October 17, 2000.)

``Doing business safely on the Internet requires new methods that more accurately establish the identity of individuals participating in online exchanges and conducting e-commerce transactions,'' said Trans Union Executive Vice President Jan Davis. ``By combining VeriSign's capabilities and Trans Union's wealth of consumer information, businesses can now effectively authenticate their end-users and issue digital credentials, thereby building trusted relationships over the Internet.''

VeriSign, a provider of digital certificate services to tens of thousands of businesses and millions of individuals worldwide, working together with Trans Union, now assists enterprises to enable identified and credentialed consumers to conduct online transactions. The new service is targeted for financial institutions that want to allow new customers to sign up online; B2B exchanges that bring together buyers and sellers from many industries to allow entities meeting required criteria such as credit ratings to participate; and medical providers can provide sensitive patient information to credentialed healthcare professionals. The combined service helps avoid the two-to-three day delay to obtain physical authentication and signatures.

Within Trans Union's massive database, identity matches can be made confidentially without releasing any private information unless specifically authorized by the individual. These capabilities allow companies to truly migrate their business processes to online methods, merely automating what already takes place in the physical world.

The Authentication Service Bureau provides authentication of individuals and organizations with high assurance, delivering digital certificates to buyers, suppliers and consumers to support identification and authorization over the Internet. Digital validation of age and identity inserts an additional layer of trust and validates transactions. Digital certificates serve as unique, online credentials that cannot be forged and which authenticate the identity of each individual.

``As e-commerce transactions continue to fuel the new economy, verification of individuals' identities is critical,'' said Anil Pereira, senior vice president of VeriSign's Internet Services Group. ``By combining Trans Union's powerful consumer credit information database with VeriSign's Authentication Service Bureau, we are enabling businesses with the tools they need to authenticate their customers over the Internet, truly replacing expensive and cumbersome paper-based transactions.''

About The VeriSign Authentication Service Bureau

VeriSign's Authentication Service Bureau enables businesses to establish trusted online relationships by irrevocably authenticating potential online customers and users via organizational and individual identity authentication, age validation, physical ``personal presence'' validation, and authentication for specific kinds of restricted access, such as access to healthcare or legal records. These services enable enterprises, online merchants, B2B exchanges and others to seamlessly outsource their authentication process and issue digital credentials necessary for authentication over the Internet.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc. is the leading provider of trusted infrastructure services to web sites, enterprises, electronic commerce service providers and individuals. The company's domain name, digital certificate and payment services provide the critical web identity, authentication and transaction infrastructure that online businesses require to conduct secure e-commerce and communications. VeriSign's services are available through its web sites (www.verisign.com and www.netsol.com) or through its direct sales force and reseller partners around the world.

About Trans Union

Headquartered in Chicago, Trans Union LLC is one of the nation's leading information services providers. Using its large database of consumer credit information, Trans Union develops tools that facilitate financial transactions between lenders and consumers, making it possible for consumers to enjoy the benefits of good financial health. Trans Union has stringent privacy protocols to protect the confidentiality and proper use of consumer information maintained in its database. The company operates regional consumer relations facilities in Crum Lynne, PA and Fullerton, CA.

NOTE: VeriSign is a registered trademark exclusively licensed to VeriSign, Inc.

All other trade names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, potential volatility in VeriSign's stock price, uncertainty of Internet privatization, increased competition in the domain name registration business including price competition, customer acceptance of new products and services offered by the company in addition to or as enhancements of its registration services, risks associated with the company's international business, uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and fluctuations in its quarterly operating results. 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, especially in the company's Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed on April 12, 2000, as amended, Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2000.

SOURCE: VeriSign, Inc.

Authentication Services from the new VeriSign Authentication Service Bureau are available immediately. Pricing is audience -- and application- specific and based on transactions and business volume.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc. is the leading provider of trusted infrastructure services to web sites, enterprises, electronic commerce service providers and individuals. The company's domain name, digital certificate and payment services provide the critical web identity, authentication and transaction infrastructure that online businesses require to conduct secure e-commerce and communications. VeriSign's services are available through its web sites (www.verisign.com and www.netsol.com) or through its direct sales force and reseller partners around the world.

NOTE: VeriSign is a registered trademark of VeriSign, Inc.

All other trade names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, potential volatility in VeriSign's stock price, uncertainty of Internet privatization, increased competition in the domain name registration business including price competition, customer acceptance of new products and services offered by the company in addition to or as enhancements of its registration services, risks associated with the company's international business, uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and fluctuations in its quarterly operating results. 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, especially in the company's Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed on April 12, 2000, as amended, Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2000.

SOURCE: VeriSign, Inc.