GlobalSign® Corporate Information

Virgin Atlantic Implements Highest Assurance SSL Technology from GlobalSign

Global brand increases trust and confidence in online services with Extended Validation (EV) SSL

London, UK – 23 June, 2009 – GlobalSign Inc ((www.globalsign.ca)), one of the longest established Certification Authorities (CA) and specialists in SSL Certificate security, today announced Virgin Atlantic as the most recent major brand to migrate to its Extended Validation (EV) SSL technology to secure their public facing web site (www.virginatlantic.com). EV SSL differs greatly from standard SSL making the browser address bar glow green, and providing visitors with visual reassurance that the site they are on is who they claim to be and that their personal information is secure.

EV SSL, perhaps the most significant advancement in how consumers view and understand security on the web, activates the glowing green address bar in the current generation of browsers including IE7 and 8, Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome and Safari and gives companies a means of visibly showing they are a trusted and authentic organisation operating a legitimate web site. These extra visual indicators provide a clear business differentiator for online companies taking preventative action against today’s relentless phishing attacks. The adoption of EV SSL by Virgin Atlantic clearly shows its customers their strong ongoing commitment to online safety and security. Extended Validation Certificate support is now widespread and the benefits of increased protection against online fraud and brand abuse can be recognised by the majority of Virgin Atlantic’s online visitors.

“Virgin Atlantic made the decision to migrate their existing standard level SSL Certificates to the latest Extended Validation SSL to provide the highest level of identity trust available to their online customers”, said Alex New, IT Architect, Virgin Atlantic. “GlobalSign were able to deliver the platform and EV SSL products that meet our operational and security requirements and have helped make the switch to EV SSL Certificates straightforward.”

“Using technology that provides the best defence against phishing as well as higher levels of trust to web site visitors is essential for an international brand like Virgin Atlantic,” said Paul Tourret, Managing Director, GlobalSign Inc. “Virgin Atlantic and its customers benefit immediately from the ‘glowing green’ enhanced protection EV SSL Certificates provide and we are pleased that Virgin Atlantic is setting the online security standard within its industry.”

GlobalSign is the preferred EV SSL supplier for some of the UK’s leading ecommerce web sites – including BT Shop, Dabs.com, Virgin Atlantic and GoCompare.com. The criteria for issuing EV Certificates (the EV Certificate Guidelines) are produced by the CA/Browser Forum, an organisation whose members include leading Certification Authorities and browser vendors, as well as representatives from the legal and audit sectors. GlobalSign and VeriSign are two such members.

For more information on EV SSL and to see a GlobalSign Extended SSL certificates in operation please visit www.globalsign.co.uk/ssl/buy-ssl-certificates/extended-validation-ssl/

About Virgin Atlantic Airways
Founded in 1984, Virgin Atlantic has become one of the world’s leading airlines serving the world’s major cities. Now based at London’s Gatwick and Heathrow airports and Manchester airport, it operates long haul services to thirty destinations world-wide as far apart as Las Vegas and Shanghai. The airline has pioneered a range of innovations setting new standards of service, which its competitors have subsequently sought to follow. Despite Virgin Atlantic’s growth the service still remains customer driven with an emphasis on value for money, quality, fun and innovation.

About GlobalSign
Established in 1996 and as a WebTrust accredited public certificate authority, GlobalSign offers publicly trusted SSL Certificates, EV SSL, Managed SSL Services, S/MIME email security and Code Signing for use on all platforms including mobile devices. Its Trusted Root solution uses the widely embedded GlobalSign Root CA certificates to provide immediate PKI trust for Microsoft Certificate Services and internal PKI, eliminating the costs of using untrusted Root Certificates. Its partnership with Adobe to provide Certified Document Services (CDS) enables secure digitally signed PDF documents, certified transcripts and e-invoices.  These core Digital Certificate solutions allow its thousands of authenticated customers to conduct secure online transactions, data transfer, distribution of tamper-proof code, and protection of online identities for secure email and access control.  The company has a history of innovation within the online security industry and has offices in the US, UK, Belgium, Japan, and China.

GMO Internet Group
GMO Internet Group is a leading force in the Internet industry offering one of the most comprehensive ranges of Internet services worldwide. The group is the top provider of domain registration, web hosting, ecommerce, and payment processing solutions in Japan and operates a host of other Internet services including global online security services, search engine marketing and online securities trading. At the center of the group is GMO Internet, Inc. (TSE: 9449) headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Please visit www.gmo.jp/en for further details.

For further details please contact:

Steve Waite
GlobalSign
+1 416-749-9898
press@globalsign.com