January 11, 2006 – (HOSTSEARCH.COM) – Digital certification company and web hosting solutions provider Comodo Inc. (http://www.comodogroup.com) has announced an initiative that will protect donors to charitable organizations from data theft and online fraud. ‘Not for Profit’ organizations such as charities are fast becoming the target of ‘phishers’ and ‘pharmers’ who set up web sites mimicking an charity websites in a bid to steal visitors’ contact and credit card details. A recent incident where 2,000 donor addresses were stolen from a UK Christian Charity website indicates the scale of the problem.
Unlike major corporations that are the traditional target for such attacks, charities can not protect themselves adequately because of lack of resources and funds. As a result, Comodo has decided to provide assistance. “As a Certification Authority, we have a duty to help these worthy organizations get the donations they urgently need,” said Judy Shapiro, VP of Marketing at Comodo.
Comodo is offering free ‘Identity’ and ‘Trust Assurance’ solutions to charity websites to enable them to protect their transactions and provide anti-phishing protection. The company expects that over 3,000 organizations will benefit from the initiative. The solutions being offered include ‘High Assurance SSL Certificates’ that ensure data passed between a donor and a charity is encrypted, ‘Content Verification Certificates’ that enable web site visitors to ensure they are visiting a valid web site, and ‘Server Vulnerability Scanning’ to ascertain and eliminate potential server issues. Each of these services will be offered free of charge.
“Comodo is committed to urgently address this emerging threat so that charities can retain the continued trust of online donors without making donors vulnerable to theft, added Shapiro.”
