The program is aimed at developers and enterprise IT organizations interested in integrating their online applications with two-factor authentication.

VeriSign, Inc., a provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked world, unveiled the VeriSign Identity Protection Test Drive for Developers program. The company states that the new program is aimed at developers and enterprise IT organizations interested in integrating their online applications with two-factor authentication.

Further it states that the VIP Test Drive for Developers program provides access to VIP APIs – the same APIs used in real-world deployments – for use in a pilot environment. By making the API to the VIP Authentication Service available through a free download, developers can quickly evaluate how easy it is to enable their own applications for two factor authentication using the VIP Authentication Service.

The company articulated that VIP Authentication Service is a two-factor authentication service fully hosted by them. It is based on open standards, such as OATH, and enables a wide choice of credential form factors. It adds that online business giants such as eBay and PayPal rely on the VIP Authentication Service to build an additional layer of authentication into online transactions. It also states that the VIP Authentication Service uses a special security credential that provides Internet users with a unique six digit security code for every transaction. During an online transaction, this security code is entered into a user interface with other information, achieving two-factor authentication.

In addition the company explains that VIP Authentication Service is deployed on a trusted and shared network, which allows consumers to use a single security device to authenticate themselves across any VIP-enabled Web site. It further claims that it makes it more convenient for end users to adopt two-factor authentication. While other stand-alone, two factor authentication solutions incur high initial costs and high infrastructure maintenance fees, VIP is easy and less costly for companies to implement and maintain. It even claims that by leveraging a shared security and logistics infrastructure, VIP also makes it simpler and more cost-effective for companies with extensive online presence to implement stronger authentication.

"Two-factor authentication is rapidly gaining momentum as a powerful added protection to thwart identity thieves and online fraud," said Kerry Loftus, vice president of consumer authentication at VeriSign. "The most popular question IT departments ask about VIP is, 'Can it really be that simple to deploy two-factor authentication?' As the VIP Test Drive for Developers program will show, the answer to that question is yes."

"The VIP Test Drive for Developers program should further strengthen VeriSign's position in consumer authentication, a market that is poised to take off this year," said Sally Hudson, IDC's research director of security products and services. "VeriSign's strengths include its trusted brand name for online security and its track record in operating successfully in a scaleable Internet driven networking environment. These factors are extremely important in the growing consumer market, which will increasingly demand stronger authentication and seamless connectivity between online sites. Organizations that maintain online channels for consumers can benefit from the ease of joining the network, which has potential to lower costs while increasing online revenue streams. The VIP Test Drive for Developers program will serve to highlight the ease of integrating consumer authentication with online applications."