GeoTrust Earns WebTrust Seal of Assurance from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

Second Largest Certificate Authority Achieves Industry Recognition as Supplier of Secure, Trusted Web Communications and Transactions; Leader in Internet Security Reaches Milestone 15% Market Share for SSL Certificate Delivery

October 29, 2002 - Wellesley, MA - GeoTrust, Inc., a leader in next-generation identity and security solutions for e-business and the world's second largest certificate authority, today announced that it has been awarded the WebTrust Seal of Assurance for Certificate Authorities by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The WebTrust seal for Certificate Authorities (CAs) recognizes GeoTrust as in compliance with industry-accepted standards for issuing and managing digital certificates for secure Internet communications and transactions, as established by both the AICPA and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA). GeoTrust was granted the WebTrust seal after Ernst & Young conducted an independent audit of GeoTrust technologies, operations and facilities in accordance with AICPA and CICA guidelines.

The WebTrust seal assures consumers, Web site owners and resellers that Internet and Web transactions are protected, that all participants are properly identified and that all communications are secured and encrypted in an industry-accepted manner. As a leader in the digital certificate industry, GeoTrust has also been invited by the AICPA to join its conference to participate in the ongoing development of WebTrust standards for CAs.

"Trust is the most critical factor to e-business success, and GeoTrust is gratified that the AICPA has recognized our technology and processes for secure Web business," said Neal Creighton, GeoTrust CEO. "At GeoTrust, we believe that it shouldn't be a time consuming and difficult task for businesses to get up and running with powerful Internet security, which is why our technology makes it easy for companies to quickly and cost effectively build Internet businesses that people trust."

GeoTrust also announced today that it has achieved the significant milestone of owning 15 percent of the market for SSL server certificates. According to the Security Space (www.securityspace.com) Secure Server Survey for September 2002, GeoTrust has reached 15.21 percent market share for server side SSL certificates issued to .com and .net domain names. GeoTrust has steadily increased its market share figures over the past year while other leading CAs' shares have diminished.

"GeoTrust delivers the fastest and strongest e-business security possible," continued Creighton. "We are serving an expanding list of customers worldwide, who have given an overwhelming vote of confidence to our next-generation security methods as shown by our steadily increasing market share."

GeoTrust provides the most immediate and secure solution for online businesses wishing to build consumer confidence by offering secure sites and transactions. GeoTrust offers e-businesses, resellers and ISPs the ability to conduct secure transactions by using GeoTrust's QuickSSL, which offers commercial quality, 128-bit SSL digital certificates in as little as 10 minutes. This 10-minute turnaround beats the competition's 3-5 day wait for digital certificate delivery and enables companies to begin secure e-business almost immediately. A few of GeoTrust's customers include Register.com, Tucows.com, KMart, The GAP, Old Navy, Alabanza, Harley Davidson, ABNAMRO, Peachtree, MetLife and PeopleSoft.

About GeoTrust, Inc.

GeoTrust, Inc., an emerging leader in Identity and Trust Services, helps organizations of all sizes secure e-commerce transactions, trusted identities and fully managed trusted environments for conducting e-business. GeoTrust's Web Security Services offer hosting providers and businesses with world-class digital certificates for fast transaction security and patent-pending smart-seals to ensure a trusted identity on the Web. GeoTrust also offers managed security services for large enterprises. With more than 25,000 companies in over 80 countries using its technology for transaction security, GeoTrust is the second largest digital certificate provider in the world. GeoTrust can be reached at www.geotrust.com or 800-944-0492.

Contact
Kae Kronthaler-Williams
Public Relations
GeoTrust, Inc.
781-263-4113

GeoTrust is a registered trademark of GeoTrust, Inc. QuickSSL, True BusinessID and True Site are trademarks of GeoTrust, Inc. All other product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.