VeriSign To Provide Authentication For U.S. OpenID Program

PRESS RELEASE

Mountain View, Calif. " September 9, 2009 " VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure for the networked world, today announced it will support and participate in pilot programs aimed at making it easier for Americans to safely and conveniently access services on U.S. Government Web sites.

By joining other industry leaders in supporting the Open Identity for Open Government initiative, VeriSign will serve as a key provider of OpenID authentication, which allows users to log on to multiple sites using the same digital identity. Using OpenID, members of the public will be able to log in to some government Web sites without revealing any personally identifiable information. Other sites may ask the user to supply some data and the user will determine how much information they are willing to share in order to save personal preferences.

"VeriSign is excited to be a part of the U.S. Government's initiative to further President Obama's call for a more open and participatory government," said Nicolas Popp, vice president of Innovation at VeriSign. "Based on our experience with bringing trust to the Internet, we look forward to playing a role in the development of an identity trust framework that will enable citizens to communicate with the government openly with confidence."

Through the VeriSign' Personal Identity Portal (PIP) from VeriSign Labs, users can manage their OpenID to access government Web sites designated for the pilot programs, such as the National Institutes of Health at www.nih.gov. VeriSign's PIP is an identity hub that allows people to access all aspects or their identity online. Visit the PIP at https://pip.verisignlabs.com/

Members of the public who choose to manage their OpenID with VeriSign have the added advantage of protecting their vital personal information with VeriSign's strong second-factor authentication. Strong authentication protects users from fraud and identity theft by providing an additional layer of protection beyond simple username and password.

As an OpenID provider and authenticator, VeriSign has worked carefully to ensure that its PIP service adheres to the Federal Identity, Credentialing and Access Management OpenID 2.0 Profile. Open trust frameworks enable citizens to choose the identity technology, identity provider, and credential with which they are most comfortable, while enabling government Web sites to accept and trust these credentials. This approach leads to better innovation and lower costs for both government and citizens.

About VeriSign VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) is the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked world. Billions of times each day, VeriSign helps companies and consumers all over the world engage in communications and commerce with confidence. Additional news and information about the company is available at www.verisign.com.

Contacts Christina Rohall, [email protected], 650-336-4663 Investor Relations: Nancy Fazioli, [email protected], 650-426-5146