VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked world, today announced it is sponsoring a government-led initiative to drive awareness of Internet security issues throughout India. Beginning May 1, Consumer Information Security Awareness Week will help spotlight ways to fight phishing and spam, particularly among the key targets of e-criminals: children, parents, teachers, financial institutions and government agencies.

The week-long effort will kick off a longer term drive to build awareness of the increasingly sophisticated threats that face the more than 1 billion Internet users worldwide – and millions of Internet users in India. Consumer Information Security Awareness Week is hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) along with Department of Information & Technology and Computer Emergency Response Team-India (CERT-In).

As part of the effort, CII and CERT-In have established the Information Security Advisory Forum, which is a unified line of communication between government, industry and law enforcement agencies on information security issues. Proposed forum activities will include organising programs that educate and train Internet users about the tools and resources available to protect them from e-criminals.

"Protecting consumers from phishers and online identity thieves involves a combination of technologies, processes and knowledge that must be applied in unison to thwart the attempts of e-criminals to harm Internet users throughout India," said Shekhar Kirani, vice president, VeriSign India. "As a trusted worldwide leader in the security industry, VeriSign immediately recognised the value of this effort and the necessity of highlighting the importance of online security to our wider Indian community. We see the most important message that should be taken away from Consumer Information Security Awareness Week is for consumers to understand and be aware of how they can protect their online identities."

“It is an established fact that information security management is a vital issue not only to businesses, but also to society at large,” said Vikram Tiwathia, Chief Information Officer at CII. “Security and privacy are vital issues to all people in India, but especially to children and adolescents, who must be sensitised to the potential risk of using the Internet casually. This collborative effort form industry will help in raising consumer awareness to enhance trust and encourage users to exploit online services in a safe way.

VeriSign’s global infrastructure provides a critical layer of intelligence and security that enables key transactions, protects data, and safely delivers information across myriad protocols and devices. From Extended Validation SSL Certificates, to domain name services, to identity protection, to secure and efficient broadband content delivery, VeriSign offers a comprehensive spectrum of products and services that help a growing number of organisations and individuals to confidently communicate and conduct commerce online.

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About VeriSign

VeriSign is the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked world. Billions of times each day, VeriSign helps companies and consumers all over the world engagein communications and commerce with confidence. Additional news and information about the company is available at www.verisign.in