Entrust.net Challenges Verisign.

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.