Digital certificates provide two factors to build trust online: the strength of the encryption and the visual assurance of authentication. Stronger encryption enhances protection because it's harder to break. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, recommends that site owners upgrade to 2048-bit digital certificates. (2007 NIST standards)

"But for a 2048-bit key length to operate seamlessly within an Internet browser, the Certificate Authority must include the "root key" within the browser. Certificate Authorities provide Internet browsers with their root keys. If a root key is not available, the browser sends a warning message to the user. The warning message makes it appear that either the user, or whoever he or she is communicating with, has done something wrong."

"Comodo anticipated the need for longer root keys at the beginning of the millennium," said Abdulhayoglu. "We incorporated the 2048-bit root key into browsers when very few other Certificate Authorities were doing so. The advantage now , is that even Internet users with very old browsers can use Comodo 2048-bit certificates with no error messages. We're proud of that ubiquity."

A root key included in as many browsers as possible is known as "ubiquitous." A digital certificate generated with that root key give the smoothest possible performance to its user.

This is especially important in e-commerce. Merchants who use the Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificate must employ 2048-bit cryptography by the end of 2010, as mandated by the CA/B Forum. Many merchants already use the stronger encryption.

Browsers change. Generally, newer versions of browsers interact seamlessly with all the digital certificates available to their predecessors. Very infrequently, however, the browser fails to recognize digital certificates. When that happens, it sends alarming warning messages to the user, eroding the user's trust.

A recent example of such erosion of trust occurred when Firefox 3.5 failed to recognize EV SSL certificates from many of Comodo's competitors. Instead of seeing the green address bar warranted by the EV status, Firefox displayed a blue bar, connoting ordinary encryption. "Firefox 3.5 users continued to see the verifiable trust of the green address bar from Comodo EV SSL certificates," Abdulhayoglu said.

Comodo issues more high-assurance digital certificates than any other brand, offering and supporting a full complement of 2048-bit certificates, including outdated browser versions. The advantage of such near-ubiquity is that it enables more Internet users to enjoy the security advantages of 2048-bit key lengths.

When ordering or re-ordering digital certificates through Comodo or a Comodo reseller, customers may request 2048-bit key lengths in their certificate signing requests.

"Comodo led the industry in anticipating the need for longer key lengths, by including the necessary root significantly before the other Certificate Authorities did. Even today, not all certificate authorities offer 2048-bit encryption. At Comodo, we know that online trust dynamics have changed. We offer 2048-bit encryption, and it costs no extra," said Abdulhayoglu. "You just have to know to ask for it."
"Comodo's 2048-bit certificates provide strong protection for years to come. But what makes them more trusted today is the combination of a near-ubiquitous root key and smooth operation with major browsers, such as Firefox 3.5."

"This is one example of how Comodo is creating trust online."

COMODO CA
Comodo CA, Ltd., is the world's second-largest issuer of high-assurance digital certificates, providing online communications unreadable to anyone but the sender and the recipient.

Comodo CA, Ltd., provides cost-effective solutions that protect online information. Digital certificates enable secure sockets layer (SSL) communications, unreadable to anyone but the sender and the recipient. Code-signing certificates ensure that software is not tampered with.

Patent-pending Comodo CA technology enables Internet users to send encrypted emails without exchanging public keys beforehand, Continual innovation, a core competence in digital encryption, and a commitment to halting Internet crime distinguish the Comodo companies.

The Comodo companies secure and authenticate online transactions and communications for over 200,000 business customers, and it has over 15,000,000 installations of desktop security products.Comodo CA, Ltd., -- Creating Trust Online™. For more information, visit Comodo's website. www.comodo.com
 

=========
Katharine Hadow
COMODO Media Relations