Survey Shows Consumers Are Aware of SSL

Online consumers are progressively getting more cautious with their routine online transactions. Many know how to search their items and what to avoid when working on the Internet. Unfortunately, cyber miscreants have such a wide net of operation that they don't have to put much effort to capture new victims.

Entrust Inc. released a survey on SSL consumer awareness on February 20, 2007. In that the security company noted that almost 85% of online consumers currently seek a specific icon or indicator while shopping or conducting business on the Internet. The icon they most commonly look for is the "padlock" that accompanies the SSL certificate.

Sometimes miscreants here illegitimately obtain the standard SSL certificates and produce the padlock indicator on the browsers. This deceives even the most cautious Internet users and they fall for phishing or other fraudulent attacks.

It is now evident that users are getting savvier at safeguarding themselves when using the Internet, according to Bill Conner, Chairman of Entrust in a company press release. Yet e-commerce companies need to adopt the Extended Validation SSL Certificates as the next important step to fight against phishing and online attacks. The technology acts as a base for a strong, layered security defense, said Conner.

Since organized gangs on the Net continue to develop their fraudulent tools to overwhelm unwary consumers, companies offering online services should adopt proactive measures to protect their customers just as they do for their businesses, Conner added.

The Extended Validation SSL Certificates commonly called "EV Certificates" provide safeguards against phishing attacks. In the EV-enabled Internet Explorer 7, legitimate sites will result the address bar to turn green and the browser will display the Certification Authority that issued the certificate to the site.

According to the survey, 70% of respondents preferred to visit a site for which the address bar becomes green. Those who did not seek specific security indicators were at least familiar with security alerts when they conducted online transactions.

EV Certificates allow consumers to verify the identity and authenticity of the company they are interacting with on the Net and that helps to increase their confidence.

Related article: Survey Finds 96% Zombie PCs in Malaysia

» SPAMfighter News - 3/3/2007