About VeriSign and SSL Certificates

Jan 8, 2018 Scott Rogers CAs

Internet pioneer VeriSign was the first company ever to issue SSL certificates back in the mid-1990s, and it continued to be the brand and market leader in the SSL space until the acquisition of the VeriSign digital certificates business by Symantec in 2010.

During that time VeriSign played a critical role and a technical and trust leader in the online security and digital certificates space. Among the company’s important contributions were its leadership in the establishment of the Extended Validation (EV) certificate standard and the creation of what is now the Norton Secured Seal, the world’s most recognized online trust mark.

With its acquisition of the Symantec digital certificates business in October 2017, DigiCert has become the longest continually operating CA and the provider for GeoTrust, Symantec, and Thawte certificates.

SSL Extended Validation from Symantec: The highest level of security certificate available

An EV SSL certificate from Symantec provides customers more confidence that they are interacting with a trusted website and that their information is secure. EV SSL certificates trigger high-security web browsers to display your organization's name in a green address bar and to show the name of the Certificate Authority that issued it. The Certificate Authority authenticates websites with an audited, rigorous methodology. High-security web browsers control the display, making it difficult for phishers and counterfeiters to hijack your brand and your customers.

  Verisign Extended Validation (EV) green address bar

Displaying the Symantec name in the green address bar gives an extra boost to site visitors’ confidence because Symantec is the most recognized and most trusted name in SSL security

Customers know and trust Symantec

Symantec SSL assures shoppers that a site is both secure and trusted. Viewed up to 250 million times a day on over 90,000 websites and in 160 countries, the Norton Secured Seal has become the most recognized trust mark on the Internet. When website visitors see the Norton Secured Seal, they are less likely to abandon a transaction and more likely to do business with you online. Online shoppers extend their trust in Symantec to your site when you display the Norton Secured Seal on your secured website because:

  • The site is secured with Symantec SSL, issued by the leading Certificate Authority worldwide.
  • Symantec has verified the identity of the business and its right to use the website domain name.
  • The website has passed a daily malware scan.

The most trusted and secure choice for e-commerce

Symantec Secure Site with EV (Extended Validation) offers the most trusted and secure choice for securing your e-commerce website. EV triggers the display of the green address bar in the latest high-security browsers and shows Symantec as your certificate issuer. True 128-bit SSL encryption enables every site visitor to experience the strongest SSL encryption available to them.

The green address bar is an instant visual queue to your customers that your site is a trusted site and has met rigorous EV authentication standards. Higher trust means more business for you.

Symantec EV SSL is ideal for...

  • E-commerce sites
  • Banking and other financial sites
  • Well known, high-risk customer-facing sites
  • Any site looking to protect its brand
  • Any site that is likely to be the target of phishing scams
  • Any site that wants a competitive advantage