WS-Security Specification Submitted to OASIS for Standardization

IBM, Microsoft and VeriSign Submit WS-Security Specification to OASIS for Standardization

Advanced Web Services Security Specification Broadly Supported by Industry

June 27, 2002. Somers, N.Y., USA; Redmond, WA, USA; Mountain View, CA, USA.

IBM, Microsoft Corp., and VeriSign, Inc., today announced they will submit the latest version of the Web Services Security (WS-Security) specification to the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) for ongoing development.

The WS-Security specification is one of the first Web services standards to support, integrate and unify multiple security models, mechanisms and technologies, allowing a variety of systems to interoperate in a platform- and language-neutral manner.

Baltimore Technologies, BEA Systems, Cisco Systems, Documentum, Entrust, Inc., Intel Corporation, IONA, Netegrity, Novell, Oblix, OpenNetwork, RSA Security, SAP, Sun Microsystems, and Systinet have all expressed plans to participate in the OASIS development effort.

With this announcement, IBM, Microsoft and VeriSign are furthering their commitment to build and deliver standards-based security solutions that meet customer requirements. The three companies will continue to work together to advance standards-based specifications that will allow for comprehensive Web services security solutions as outlined in the "Security in a Web Services World" road map, which was drafted by IBM and Microsoft in April 2002.

The WS-Security specification, which provides the foundation for that road map, defines a standard set of Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) extensions, or message headers, that can be used to implement integrity and confidentiality in Web services applications. Web services are applications that can be accessed through XML and SOAP-based protocols, making them platform- and language-independent. WS-Security provides a foundation layer for secure Web services, laying the groundwork for higher-level facilities such as federation, policy and trust.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc. is the leading provider of digital trust services that enable everyone, everywhere to engage in commerce and communications with confidence. VeriSign's digital trust services create a trusted environment through four core offerings -- Web presence services, security services, payment services, and telecommunications services -- powered by a global infrastructure that manages more than six billion network connections and transactions a day. Additional news and information about the company is available at http://www.verisign.com.

About IBM

IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. IBM software offers the widest range of infrastructure software for all types of computing platforms, allowing customers to take full advantage of the new era of e-business. The fastest way to get more information about IBM software is through the IBM home page at http://www.ibm.com/software/.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device.

Contacts

IBM
Angela Lee
Tel: +1 212/745-2954
Email: a1lee@us.ibm.com

VeriSign
David Berkowitz
Tel: +1 650/426-4470
Email: dberkowitz@verisign.com

VeriSign Investor Relations
Steven Gatoff
Tel: +1 650/426-4560
Email: sgatoff@verisign.com

Waggener Edstrom for Microsoft
Brian Seitz
Tel: +1 425/638-7000
Email: rrt@wagged.com

Prepared by Robin Cover for The XML Cover Pages archive. See: "Web Services Security Specification (WS-Security)."

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