Virgin Holidays implements EV SSL from GlobalSign to protect its brand from copy cat websites and safeguard customers from phishing attacks

(13/01/2010)

GlobalSign Ltd has announced that Virgin Holidays is the latest major brand to implement GlobalSign’s Extended Validation (EV) SSL technology to secure its Virgin Holidays public facing website - the second Virgin brand to choose GlobalSign’s most advanced SSL Certificate, after Virgin Atlantic adopted the technology on its website in May last year.

EV SSL activates the browser’s green address bar in IE7 and 8, Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome and Safari representing the most significant advancement in how consumers identify a secure site since the inception of SSL over 10 years ago.

In addition to turning the address bar green, websites using EV SSL feature the standard SSL “padlock”, as well as displaying advanced security and identity information, including the organisation name behind the website and the issuing SSL Certification Authority. These additional features provide visitors with visual reassurance that the site they are visiting is legitimate and that their personal information is fully secure - a clear business differentiator for online companies taking preventative action against today’s relentless phishing attacks. The adoption of EV SSL by Virgin Holidays clearly shows their customers a strong ongoing commitment to online safety and security.

By choosing to upgrade their existing SSL Certificate to GlobalSign’s EV SSL from the more traditional type of Organisation Validated SSL, Virgin Holidays will not only protect its brand from copy cat websites and safeguard customers from phishing attacks, but will elevate their site image, inevitably leading to reduced shopping basket abandonment rates and increased sales conversions; a win-win situation for both Virgin Holidays and its online customers. Virgin Holidays’ adoption of EV SSL is also perfectly timed to coincide with the travel industry’s expected seasonal January sales peak.

“Virgin Holidays chose to implement EV SSL from GlobalSign due to their competitive prices and more importantly speed of issuance”, said Maria Carlin, IT Infrastructure Team Leader, Virgin Holidays. “We wanted to ensure that our website was completely secure for our customers. Displaying the green bar through the use of EV SSL achieves this”.

As previously commented by Alex New, IT Architect at Virgin Atlantic; “Virgin Atlantic made the decision to migrate their existing standard level SSL Certificates to the latest Extended Validation SSL to provide the highest level of identity trust available to their online customers. GlobalSign were able to deliver the platform and EV SSL products that meet our operational and security requirements and have helped make the switch to EV SSL Certificates straightforward.”

“With the number of phishing attacks constantly on the rise, it is essential for online brands to use the latest technology available to secure their websites. We are very pleased to welcome Virgin Holidays on board after Virgin Atlantic’s successful adoption of the glowing green bar last year.” said Paul Tourret, Managing Director, GlobalSign Ltd, “With another Virgin company switching to GlobalSign’s EV SSL, the internationally recognised Virgin brand is demonstrating its dedication to ensuring its customers’ online security”.

Related topics:  Application and software security   Internet and Web security 

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