Verification of Identity (VOI) and Extended Validation

14 Sep 2017

What is Extended Validation?

Extended Validation is the process of verifying the identity and authority of individuals or organisations behind a website. It is intended to give users of the website more confidence that the legal entity behind the website exists and that the website is genuine i.e. not an imposter site.

In order to obtain an Extended Validation Certificate (EVC), the individual or organisation behind a website (Applicant) must:

• Prove that they have the right to use a domain;

• Confirm that they have a physical, operational and legal existence; and

• Where the Applicant is an organisation, the authorised person must prove that they are authorised by the organisation to request the issue of an Extended Validation Certificate.

The criteria for issuing an EVC are defined by the Guidelines for Extended Validation. (https://cabforum.org/ev-code-signing-certificate-guidelines/)

How do I know if a website has an EVC?

A website that has an EVC will have the following indicators:

• The website’s address bar will be green;

• The website’s URL will start with https://; and

• There will be a padlock icon.

Examples:

Chrome
Mozilla Firefox

What this means is that the connection to the website is secure and has strong encryptions in place. The risk of being targeted by a phishing attack is also lessened.

Who should use an EVC?

Any website that collects data, processes online payments or deals with online trade and e-commerce transactions would benefit from an EVC.

With constant changing technology, e-commerce platforms continue to expand and more businesses are taking their business online.  An EVC gives your customers the confidence and assurance that they are dealing with a company that is fully authenticated and validated by a certification authority.

Murfett Legal can assist you in the EVC application process by validating the identity and existence of the business/company. We will then provide a letter of our professional opinion in relation to the business/company’s existence (legally, physically and operationally) in support of the business/company’s EVC application. ­­­­­­­­
 

For further information contact Murfett Legal by emailing one of the following directors:

 
Jason De Silva (Director):     [email protected]
Kelly Parker  (Director):       [email protected]
Peter Broun  (Director):       [email protected]


Author:     Peter Broun, Tom Meagher & Deborah Low