Verisign aims to make Web services trustworthy

NEWS

VeriSign's new software tools, unveiled on Tuesday, allow companies to add authentication services for online bill payment or financial data exchange between companies, for instance, to Web services applications. Software companies are supporting "digital trust" company VeriSign's effort by building interfaces into their e-business infrastructure software, so their business customers can tap into VeriSign's security services. Microsoft, Sun and IBM, the largest proponents of Web services, can use the back-end security services provided by the company through their competing Web services initiatives, said VeriSign. Other companies backing VeriSign's technology include BEA Systems, Hewlett-Packard and WebMethods. Analysts say VeriSign is well-positioned to play a large role in the emerging -- and much-hyped -- Web services market, given its role as a provider of Internet infrastructure software, such as its Web authentication and security expertise, as well as its dominance in Internet domain-name registration. "There isn't a market for Web services yet, but now is the time to start bringing trust to Web services," said analyst Joe Marino, of Current Analysis. VeriSign is "covering pretty much the full gamut of everything needed, from being able to have identity, authentication and transaction services." With Web services in its infancy, VeriSign won't see immediate financial benefits from its technology and partnership announcements, but they could prove fruitful in the long term, analysts say. Web services is a method for building software that allows companies with different computing systems to interact and conduct transactions. Analysts see Web services gaining popularity in the coming years as a more efficient way of building software, and all major software makers are planning Web services tools and other products. VeriSign is essentially grafting its existing product offerings to Web services, Marino added. One of the major challenges to implementing Web services, according to analysts, is establishing secure identities online. VeriSign has built a stable of software tools and services that enable it to be a large provider of Net-based identification technology. That could be key as software companies race to provide the technology used to build services that consumers can use over the Web. Anil Chakravarthy, VeriSign's director of business planning, said VeriSign's offerings are threefold, starting with managing the identity of a Web service. A company, for example, can advertise its Web service to potential customers through a public Web services directory. VeriSign will manage the identity of the Web service, such as providing potential customers direct links to a company, so the two can do business, he said. VeriSign, through its "Digital Trust Services Framework" will offer authentication and authorisation services that will ensure that businesses and people are who they purport to be, that businesses have good credit ratings, and that people within a company have the authority to make a purchasing decision. And thirdly, the company will offer transaction services such as bill payment, Chakravarthy said. The framework includes blueprints and tools for in-house software developers and service providers to connect their software to VeriSign's services. VeriSign also plans to offer integration with telephony services, which will allow authorised people to make purchases and payments via cell phones, he added. VeriSign's framework supports security standards such as XKMS (XML Key Management Specification) and SAML (Security Assertions Markup Language). IBM will support XKMS and SAML in its software family to bolster security in Web services, but Big Blue is also supporting VeriSign's framework to give more security options to its customers, an IBM representative said. News.com's Ben Heskett contributed to this report.

More enterprise IT news in ZDNet UK's Tech Update Channel.

For a weekly round-up of the enterprise IT news, sign up for the Tech Update newsletter. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the ZDNet news forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

ZDNet UK Live

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

1 hour ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

2 hours ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

2 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

3 hours ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

5 hours ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

10 hours ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

12 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

12 hours ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

14 hours ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

15 hours ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

15 hours ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

16 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

16 hours ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

17 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

17 hours ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

17 hours ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

17 hours ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

18 hours ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

21 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

22 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Verisign aims to make Web services trustworthy

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

VeriSign poised to win Net ID struggle

VeriSign, IBM strike security pact

Critics clamour for Web services standards

Perens: Linux could learn from Apple

Post your comment

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in Application Development

Perens: Linux could learn from Apple

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Solutions Architect - Oxford - publishing

Project/ImplementationManager - homebased - DataWarehouse/BI

Project/Implementation Manager-homebased-Data Warehouse/BI

Inside ZDNet UK

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

BlackBerry Bold 9790

How to handle data replication

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault

News & Analysis

Reviews

Blogs

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features

ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Application Development

Verisign aims to make Web services trustworthy

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

Post your comment

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in Application Development

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Inside ZDNet UK

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features