Network Solutions Registry's Comment on Internet Domain Name Server Incident

Business Wire, August 24, 2000

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 24, 2000

The Network Solutions Registry (NSI Registry), a division of Network Solutions Inc., a VeriSign company, Thursday acknowledged that on Wednesday, Aug. 23 at approximately 6:30 PM ET, four of the 12 root servers of the Internet's Root System were improperly updated.

The impact to the Internet was negligible because most servers are configured to find any one of the multiple root servers available.

NSI has determined that incident was caused by an anomaly in the Berkley Internet Name Domain (BIND) server application for DNS. The NSI Registry took immediate action, working with the operators for each of these root servers to correct the problem. The incident was corrected in all four servers within two hours of notification. Operational changes have already been made to prevent any such occurrences in the future.

About Network Solutions Registry

The Network Solutions Registry division is the leading provider of Internet locator services and is an independent division within Network Solutions Inc., a VeriSign (Nasdaq: VRSN) company. The Registry maintains the definitive directory of more than 19 million Web addresses and is responsible for the infrastructure that propagates this information throughout the Internet and responds to more than 1.5 billion DNS look-ups daily.

As the exclusive provider of registry services to .com, .net, and .org, the Registry currently supports 61 active ICANN accredited registrars operating in 16 countries around the globe. For more information, see the www.nsiregistry.com Web site.

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 Dec. 31, 1999 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2000.