GeoTrust Accelerates to UK SSL Market Leadership

Rapid issuance, competitive prices and better support than competitive offerings result in 56% more certificates issued year-over- year

LONDON, UK.— 31st October, 2005— GeoTrust Europe, Inc., a leader in identity verification solutions for e-business and a leading issuer of SSL (secure sockets layer) certificates for web security, today announced that it has overtaken VeriSign and thawte to become the number one brand of digital certificates issued in the UK. In its latest survey* of secure web sites, Internet research and analysis authority Netcraft (www.netcraft.com) reports a 5.8% growth in GeoTrust’s UK market share over the last twelve months from 21.5% to 27.3% and a marked decline of its key competitors’ share. GeoTrust attributes this rapid growth to its continuing dedication to providing better value and services to its customers and to strong momentum in the enterprise and retail markets.

According to the Netcraft data, GeoTrust now secures over 2,650 more sites in the UK than it did a year ago, representing a 56% increase compared to overall growth in the UK market of 23%. The growth of key competitors slowed considerably, with VeriSign and thawte growing its certificate base by 4% and 7% respectively. VeriSign, once the dominant provider, has witnessed the most significant market share loss over the last year, losing 4.5%, while thawte lost 3.8% of its market share. The figures highlight an increasing trend of customers choosing GeoTrust in preference to other certificate providers.

The growth also points to GeoTrust’s greater traction in the enterprise and retail markets. 2005 saw the addition of several large enterprises to the GeoTrust customer base, each with high number certificate demands, including Loughborough University, Experian and many local government and council bodies. GeoTrust has attributed this growth to enterprises recognizing the substantial cost savings and productivity enhancements that can be achieved by using GeoTrust’s certificates.

“GeoTrust’s got an excellent reputation in the security space and is able to provide us with fast, flexible SSL certificates at a competitive cost,” commented Steve Palmer, operational service manager, Experian’s Business Strategies division. “Because it automates certificate issuance, it’s also taken a chunk out of our workload as previously we had to go through a time consuming manual vetting process.”

“This achievement is particularly impressive when you consider that GeoTrust is still a relatively new entrant in the SSL market, and even more so in the European market,” commented Paul Tourret, managing director GeoTrust Europe. “When we launched our European office in late 2003 we predicted we’d be the number one SSL provider in Europe within three years. We’re now number one in the two biggest European markets: Germany and the UK and our momentum is continuing to build. GeoTrust has become a widely recognized and trusted brand in both the e-commerce and enterprise markets.”

GeoTrust provides a range of SSL products and associated services to over one hundred thousand customers worldwide. These include web security services to protect online transactions; enterprise services to safeguard network access, online communication and digital transactions; identity verification services for web sites, businesses and individuals; and signing technologies that digitally bind people to documents and ensure the integrity of computer code.

About GeoTrust, Inc.
GeoTrust is a leader in identity verification and trust services for e-business. Its products include web security services for secure e-commerce transactions, identity verification, managed security services and TrustWatch (www.trustwatch.com), a free toolbar and search site that helps consumers recognize whether a site has been verified and is safe for the exchange of confidential information. With more than 100,000 companies in over 140 countries using its technology for online security, GeoTrust has rapidly become the second largest digital certificate provider in the world. Visit www.geotrusteurope.com for more information.

* October 2005 Netcraft Secure Server Survey, Netcraft Ltd.

GeoTrust is a registered trademark of GeoTrust, Inc. All other product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.