GlobalSign Announces Multi-Year Secure Email Certificates

Nov. 16, 2009 - PRLog -- GlobalSign Inc (www.globalsign.com), the global online security specialist has announced the launch of its new multi-year Secure Email Certificate, branded PersonalSign – a cryptographic Digital Certificate that will secure email content and identify to recipients the true email identity of the sender.  Offering multi-year Secure Email Certificates versus one year Certificates allows users to renew less frequently, avoid the common pitfalls of an expiring Certificate, and take advantage of generous multi-year pricing discounts.  The launch comes at the time when fellow Certification Authority Thawte (owned by VeriSign), announced the discontinuation and upcoming revocation of its Secure Email Certificates.

Secure Email Certificates (sometimes also known in the industry as Digital IDs) can be installed in all popular email clients such as Microsoft Outlook, and allow email users to digitally sign and encrypt email; ensuring it is tamper proof and protected from prying eyes.  Encrypting an email renders its content and attachments unreadable by anyone except the intended recipient. Additionally, digitally signing an email protects message integrity by ensuring the message has not been altered, either accidentally or maliciously.  GlobalSign PersonalSign Certificates also allow users to digitally sign Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access documents directly from Microsoft Office to prevent tampering of content and prove authorship.

Prior to the pioneering introduction of multi-year Email Security Certificates by GlobalSign, customers using similar S/MIME compliant Certificates from other providers would have to re-order/renew Certificates each year.  Besides the annual risk of forgetting to re-apply before expiration, users can run into the problem of not being able to open messages encrypted with previous (or lost) Certificates.  This occurs when users do not realize that even expired Certificates must be retained or exported, especially if there is a change of computers.  By using a three-year validity PersonalSign Certificate, users have fewer Certificates to maintain over prolonged periods, and will not need to complete the annual renewal process required by providers of other solutions.

GlobalSign also offers varying trust levels (incorporating more comprehensive identity verification) for Certificates aimed specifically at enterprises.  Such enterprise solutions include Certificates for individuals e.g. Sally Jones of Company ABC and also Certificates issued to entire departments e.g. Marketing Department of Company ABC.  For organizations managing multiple Certificates, GlobalSign has a managed PKI solution (ePKI) that allows enterprises to issue high identity assurance Certificates to numerous employees, suppliers, and extranet users for authentication, secure email, and document security services.  Certificates are instantly issued against a pre-vetted Organization Profile. Such enterprise level Certificates strengthen corporate brand, reduce support requirements, and tie electronic documents to both the individual and organization. By using ePKI, issuing, reissuing, renewing, and revoking certificates can be completed instantly from the ePKI web portal giving enterprises 24/7 access and control to their Certificates.

GlobalSign is now offering the PersonalSign 1 product with a validity period of three years for only $49. GlobalSign also offers a free 30 day trial of its Secure Email Certificate allowing users to test out features and usability before purchasing.

To learn more about GlobalSign’s Secure Email Solutions, please visit http://www.globalsign.com/authentication-secure-email/

For more information on GlobalSign’s Enterprise PKI, please visit:
http://www.globalsign.com/authentication-secure-email/ent...


For further details please contact:
Steve Waite            
GlobalSign, Inc         
+1-603-570-7060      
press@globalsign.com

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About GlobalSign
Established in 1996 and as a WebTrust accredited public certificate authority, GlobalSign offers publicly trusted SSL, including EV SSL Certificates, S/MIME and Code Signing Certificates for use on all platforms including mobile devices. Its Trusted Root solution uses the widely distributed GlobalSign Root CA certificates to provide immediate PKI trust for Microsoft CA and enterprise CAs, eliminating the costs associated with using untrusted Root Certificates. Its partnership with Adobe to provide Certified Document Services (CDS) enables secure digitally signed PDF e-documents. These core Digital Certificate solutions allow its thousands of customers to conduct secure online transactions and data transfer, distribute tamper-proof code, and bind identities to client certificates for email security and remote two factor authentication. The company has a history of innovation within the online security market and has offices in the US, UK, Belgium, Japan, and China.