'Safe' Web Seal Requires Rigorous Checks
Beginning next month, version 7 of Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer browser will start flagging certain e-commerce and banking sites as green for "safe." The browser will look for an extended-validation certificate issued by any number of vendors.
Context & Ripple Effects
Microsoft had already positioned IE 7 around tighter browser security in 2005 through its earlier IE 7 security changes. The next-month rollout turns certificate validation into a visible trust signal for banking and e-commerce sites: the browser, rather than the site alone, will mark qualifying destinations green.
First-order effects
- E-commerce and banking operators seeking IE 7's green designation must obtain an extended-validation certificate, making the certificate issuer's checks part of the customer-facing experience.
- Certificate vendors gain a browser-backed reason to sell extended-validation certificates to merchants whose sites depend on visible trust cues.
Second-order effects
- Merchants without the qualifying certificate face a less prominent trust presentation in IE 7, potentially concentrating security-certification spending among sites where transaction confidence is central.
- Certificate issuers must compete not only on issuance but on meeting the validation standard that Microsoft has chosen to expose in the browser interface.
Third-order effects
- Browser-controlled trust indicators shift more of the web's security signaling from site design to standardized, externally verified credentials.
- If browsers continue to attach clear visual cues to verified identities, certificate-policy decisions will increasingly shape how users distinguish transactional sites.
The trend: Web browsers are becoming active arbiters of online trust by translating security credentials into simple user-facing signals.