DigiCert, a US-based Certification Authority specializing in High-Assurance SSL, unveiled its new 'Unified Communications Certificate'.

According to the company, DigiCert's Unified Communications Certificates offer a balance between flexibility and control. UC Certificates cover multiple exact server names in one certificate. Each UC Certificate contains the 'Subject Alternate Name' field, a long-overlooked capability of SSL. The Subject Alternate Name field can contain a list of exact server names to be accessed securely, even if they belong to different domains, something that a Wildcard certificate cannot do.

"There's no shortage of SSL terminology out there," says Paul Tiemann, DigiCert's Director of CA Operations, "but behind all the buzzwords there are just two kinds of ssl certificates: Single Named and Wildcard certificates. I like to think of the UC Certificate as a hybrid which blends the strengths of both."