VeriSign Internet Security Clinic Aimed at Small Businesses

Internet infrastructure services specialist VeriSign has launched a dedicated online security clinic for small businesses. The VeriSign SMB Internet Security Clinic is designed to provide advice on how to build customer trust and confidence online. The site offers SMBs advice from VeriSign's team of security experts on how they can enhance their Websites to improve customer trust and increase sales.

Businesses can submit questions via e-mail that will be answered directly and posted on VeriSign's small business page so that other businesses can learn from their peers. Advice is available on a variety of issues, ranging from online security to specific technical questions on tools and technologies such as malware, Extended Validation SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and strong authentication. SMBs with questions on how to make their Websites more secure and attractive to online shoppers can e-mail the company also.

YouGov research commissioned by VeriSign found that 82 percent of the online adult population in Britain uses only Websites with enhanced security when making transactions or providing personal details on the Web. Couple that information with research indicating that IT managers believe the biggest worries for customers are financial loss or fraud (95 percent), identity theft (91 percent), rogue merchants (77 percent) and fake Websites (74 percent), and the need for small-business managers to develop sites with strong security credentials to maximize their sales potential is clear.

"SMBs account for 99 percent of all companies in the EU [European Union], so it is vital that tailored advice is available for them as their success will act as an engine for European growth as we move out of the recession. When shopping online, many consumers automatically start with the big e-commerce portals," said Martin Mackay, vice president and general manager for VeriSign EMEA. "Therefore, SMBs need to make sure their sites give buyers the reassurance they need to avoid being forgotten. With GBP 4.4 billion (or approximately US$6.98 billion) spent online by U.K. consumers in April 2010 alone, SMB owners have a big opportunity to increase their share of these e-retail profits."

As a starting point, VeriSign compiled a series of simple steps that SMBs can take to increase consumers' trust and confidence in their sites, including scanning the business site for malware, encrypting customers' personal details, using a trust mark and displaying popular trust symbols, displaying visible contact details and protecting user accounts with identity-protection software. "The VeriSign SMB Internet Security Clinic gives those responsible for e-commerce reassurance that their sites will be secure, ideas on how to promote this to buyers and unrivalled access to VeriSign's team of experts for advice," Mackay said.