Entrust Technologies Inc. Wednesday
unveiled Entrust.net, a new company
that will secure Internet sites and servers, a move that
puts it head-to-head with VeriSign
in the Web server certification market.
Entrust.net will be issuing
digital certificates to Web servers. These certificates enable secure
communications over the Internet, intranets and extranets using the
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol. Browsers will automatically
recognize Entrust.net certificates when connecting to a site.
The Entrust.net Web server certificates will be available in both
one-year and two-year durations and will include full life-cycle
monitoring services. Entrust.net’s life-cycle monitoring service will
provide notification that certificates are about to expire as well as
the ability for Web server owners to request immediate revocation of
their certificate in case of suspected compromise.
The Entrust.net Secure Facilities Certificates will be issued by
Certification Authorities (CAs). CAs perform sensitive operations in
generating certificates; therefore the software and hardware used to
operate the CA must be maintained in secure facilities to help ensure a
robust and secure environment.
Web server certificates provide a trusted means of authenticating the
identity of Web servers, providing those accessing the site with
knowledge that the site is legitimate and that they can have a higher
level of trust knowing that their transactions will be secure.
A Web
server certificate will be issued by the Entrust.net service only after
the appropriate background checks — such as having the Web server owner
provide evidence of their identity — have been performed. Once issued,
the Web server certificate enables SSL communications between the Web
server and users who access that site. This provides a means for
managing secure transactions and relationships with individual
consumers, businesses, partners and employees.
