Banks and e-commerce firms have begun adopting a new
version of the Secure Sockets Layer web protocol to safeguard their
sites against phishing attacks.
PayPal, eBay and investment firm Charles Schwab are among the
organisations using Extended Validation SSL to verify the
authenticity of their websites. Developed by VeriSign, the system
is designed to reassure consumers that they are visiting bona fide
websites by turning the address bar green when the site is
genuine.
More than 100 companies, including two UK banks, have taken up
the system in an effort to reduce the risks faced by consumers from
phishing attacks, which spoof genuine sites to obtain confidential
information, said VeriSign director Mike Davies.
However, the technology is only available to consumers using
Windows Vista, and Internet Explorer 7.
Read
David Lacey’s
security blog
Read
Stuart King’s
risk management blog
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