Netcraft Data Shows GeoTrust Surpassing VeriSign's Digital Certificate Products in North American SSL Certificate Market [July 1, 2004]

WELLESLEY, Mass., Jul 1, 2004 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- GeoTrust, Inc., a leader in identity and security solutions for e-business and the world's second largest certificate authority, today announced that a recent market survey shows that it has surpassed each of VeriSign's individual certificate brands-including RSA Data Security, VeriSign Trust Network and thawte-in North America. Additionally, the company announced that its SSL (secure sockets layer) certificates are experiencing the strongest growth among the largest U.S.- based certificate authorities. GeoTrust draws its data from a May 2004 study conducted by Netcraft (http://www.netcraft.com/), an independent authority on market share of Internet technologies, commerce and content.

GeoTrust had already been leading two VeriSign brands: VeriSign Trust Network certificates, which had typically been sold by that company's affiliates, and thawte certificates, which are provided by an independently managed VeriSign company. However, May marked the point at which GeoTrust certificates became more commonly purchased for use on e-business sites than certificates available directly from VeriSign.

GeoTrust offers digital certificates to enable organizations and individuals to quickly and cost-effectively secure e-business transactions by verifying the identity of entities doing business online. Digital certificates are also rapidly increasing in use within large enterprises to secure network access and online communications. More recently, companies have begun using certificate technology to digitally sign documents and application code to confirm the integrity of document-based information and code traveling across networks.

The market for digital certificates is expanding as more businesses make products and services available online. In this market alone, according to Netcraft, GeoTrust gained 2,847 Web customers in May. GeoTrust is also enjoying fast growth in the enterprise market, which cannot be measured by third-parties such as Netcraft because SSL certificates are used behind corporate firewalls. This market is driven by the desire of an increasing number of corporations to open their networks to customers and partners using applications such as secure portals. These companies are choosing easy-to- implement SSL certificates to control access to sensitive data, documents and applications.

Neal Creighton, president and CEO of GeoTrust, Inc., said: "Web hosting providers, ISPs and corporations are increasingly turning to GeoTrust for digital certificates for a few fundamental reasons. Our product is easier to acquire-we turn around requests within 10 minutes, compared to three or more days for VeriSign, and have never issued a certificate in error. GeoTrust makes it simple for Web hosting providers to work with us, and the streamlined process directly benefits their customers. Finally, GeoTrust certificates are competitively priced. Taken together, these factors are naturally causing North American companies to migrate to GeoTrust."

About GeoTrust, Inc.

GeoTrust, Inc., a leader in Identity and Trust Services, helps organizations of all sizes secure e-commerce transactions, trusted identities and fully managed trusted environments for conducting e-business. GeoTrust's Web Security Services offer hosting providers and businesses with world-class digital certificates for fast transaction security and patent-pending smart- seals to ensure a trusted identity on the Web. GeoTrust also offers managed security services for large enterprises. With more than 70,000 companies in over 140 countries using its technology for transaction security, GeoTrust is the second largest digital certificate provider in the world. GeoTrust can be reached at http://www.geotrust.com or 800-944-0492.

GeoTrust is a registered trademark and QuickSSL(TM), QuickSSL(TM) Premium, True BusinessID(R), True BusinessID(R) Wildcard and Enterprise SSL(TM) are trademarks of GeoTrust, Inc. All other products and services mentioned are trademarks of their respective companies.

Media Contacts:
Joan Lockhart Bill Keeler or Jennifer Roedel
GeoTrust, Inc. Schwartz Communications, Inc.
781-263-4153 781-684-0770
joanl@geotrust.com geotrust@schwartz-pr.com

SOURCE GeoTrust, Inc.