Grant Thornton LLP and VeriSign Team to Deliver Digital Certificate Services to Financial Institutions

Business Wire, Dec 18, 2000

Business Editors

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 18, 2000

Leading Professional Services Firm to Enable Use of Digital

Credentials and Digital Signatures Across Large Client Base

Grant Thornton LLP, a major accounting, tax and management consulting firm, and VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq:VRSN), the leading provider of Internet trust services, today announced that the two organizations have signed an agreement to jointly offer managed digital certificate services to Grant Thornton's extensive base of financial services clients. The addition of Grant Thornton as a Certificate Authority operating under VeriSign's Global Trust Network will enable banks, brokerages and insurance companies to leverage a highly scalable infrastructure for the issuance of digital certificates to both corporate and consumer customers. Digital certificates are electronic credentials used to identify parties online and enable both private, encrypted communications as well as "digital signatures" which provide irrefutable proof that an online transaction has occurred.

"As financial institutions continue to use the Internet to deepen customer relationships, reach new markets and increase operating efficiencies, they must leverage their existing business partnerships to deliver these services in a highly secure and trusted manner," said Anil Pereira, group general manager and senior vice president of VeriSign's Enterprise Services Division. "As a leading trusted third party in the physical world, Grant Thornton is extremely well positioned to deliver the critical trust services needed by brokerages, banks and other financial institutions in an Internet environment."

By leveraging VeriSign's highly scalable, 24X7 trust infrastructure, Grant Thornton will create Certificate Authority hierarchies for financial services clients. These hierarchies will enable financial institutions to issue digital certificates to their corporate and individual customers and business partners providing secure access and digitally signed transactions across applications such as corporate cash management, home banking and supply-chain extranets. Financial services clients can also benefit from other value-added services such as digital notarization, digital receipts and digital records, which leverage the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, which gives digital signatures the same legal status as traditional "pen and ink" signatures.

Grant Thornton will assist financial institutions with practices and policies surrounding the creation of digital certificate hierarchies and the use of digital certificates and digital signatures in an e-commerce environment. Grant Thornton clients may also benefit from issuing digital certificates under the VeriSign Trust Network (VTN) - the world's largest network of globally interoperable digital certificates. The VTN establishes a common set of technology, infrastructure, policies, procedures and practices - key elements in establishing a common foundation of trust across international boundaries.

"Both businesses and consumers can enhance the efficiencies of the Internet and electronic commerce by using digital signatures provided by their banks," said Chris Leach, national director of e-risk services at Grant Thornton. "By teaming with VeriSign, we can now offer banks and other financial institutions the highest level of confidence and assurance in making digital signatures available to their customers."

About Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton is the leading accounting, tax and management consulting firm serving middle-market, entrepreneurial companies. With executive offices in New York, it is a U.S. member of $1.6-billion Grant Thornton International. The firm has four principal lines of business: professional services for middle-market, entrepreneurial companies, not-for-profit organizations and government agencies; tax consulting; corporate finance and risk management; and financial advisory services for the owners and senior management of middle-market, entrepreneurial companies. Grant Thornton's address on the World Wide Web is www.grantthornton.com.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq:VRSN) is the leading provider of trusted infrastructure services to Web sites, enterprises, electronic commerce service providers and individuals. The company's domain name, digital certificate and payment services provide the critical web identity, authentication and transaction infrastructure that online businesses need to conduct secure e-commerce and communications. VeriSign's services are available through its websites (www.verisign.com and www.netsol.com) or through its direct sales force and reseller partners around the world.

All rights reserved. VeriSign is a registered trademark of VeriSign, Inc. All other trade names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

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 December 31, 1999 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2000.