Tokyo – December 26, 2008 – GMO Hosting & Security consolidated subsidiary and digital certificate services company, GlobalSign is actively promoting the transition to 2048 bit encryption key length for EV SSL subscriber certificates and is now fully compliant with 2010 encryption key standards laid out in EV SSL Guidelines.

EV SSL Guidelines: 2010 Standards
In light of both advancing computer technology and vulnerability concerns the US government department, NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology [US]) has advised that to maintain security a transition to 2048 bit strong encryption key length for common key encryption, public key encryption and hash functions should be made by the end of December 2010. In accordance with the NIST recommendation EV SSL Guidelines stipulate that subscriber certificates must be switched to 2048 bit key sizes by December 31, 2010. In Japan, the NISC (National Information Security Center) deadline for upgrading key length is three years later than the US (2013) and there is concern that software and platform compatibility will fall behind global standards.

The GlobalSign Transition
As a global service provider GlobalSign is moving ahead quickly with the transition to global standard 2048 bit encryption key length. Other Certificate Authorities are issuing 2048 bit subscriber certificates while continuing to offer 1024 bit root certificates and intermediary certificates. However GlobalSign has been quick to provide EV SSL root certificates, intermediary certificates and subscriber certificates with 2048 bit encryption and to make our issuing system fully compliant in order to meet the December 2010 transition deadline. We are now able to issue 2048 bit encrypted EV SSL for certificates valid beyond December 31, 2010.

EV SSL
EV SSL offers a strict vetting process and allows web users to see at a glance that a web site is trusted by turning the address bar green when a site has been verified in compatible browsers (Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 3 etc.). There is no need to open certificates and check certification level. Both the organization that operates the site and the Certificate Authority that has verified the site are clearly displayed in the address bar making it easy to discern reliability. GlobalSign launched the EV SSL server certificate to better protection against cyber crime in October last year.

GlobalSign
GlobalSign began providing digital authentication services to Belgium ten years ago when digital authentication companies were first beginning to appear. Customers include a number of Belgian government agencies and the GlobalSign Certificate Authority operates many prestigious government projects such as eID*(BELPIC). We are recognized as the Belgian Government Certificate Authority. GlobalSign became a member of the GMO Internet Group in 2006 and is expanding sales of government-level security Japan and worldwide.
*eID: A citizen ID card. This is the first stage of the e-government project in Belgium. The ID card containing a digital certificate is distributed to all Belgian citizens over the age of 12.

Performance: (cumulative figures)
– Over 100,000 SSL Server Certificates issued
– Over1.4 million digital certificates (for web sites, IC Cards etc. including Digital IDs) issued
– Over 20 million certificates worldwide rely on the public trust provided by the GlobalSign root (including issues by subordinate CAs)
– We supply many major government agencies and major corporations

Profile
– The first certificate authority in Europe to obtain WebTrust accreditation
– CABF (CA/Browser Forum) member In Japan GlobalSign (formerly GeoTrust JAPAN) participates as a member of JCAF (Japan Certification Authority Forum)
– Anti-Phishing Working Group member

Media Inquiries
GMO Hosting and Security Inc. Corporate Planning Department
E-mailFpr@gmo-hs.com
GMO Internet Inc. Group PR Team
E-mailFpr@gmo.jp

About GMO Internet Group
GMO Internet Group, headquartered in Japan, is a leading force in the Internet industry offering one of the most comprehensive ranges of Internet services worldwide. The group holds top domestic market share in domain registration, web hosting, and payment processing and provides a host of other Internet services including global online security services, e-commerce solutions, and Internet advertising to both businesses and individuals. At the centre of the group is GMO Internet, Inc. a company listed on the prestigious first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE: 9449).

GlobalSign K.K.

GMO Hosting & Security INC.

GMO Internet Inc.