August 13, 1999

 

FOR INFORMATION

 

NTT Communications Corporation has developed a web site approval-guarantee system to ensure reliability of web site information. This system (1) provides for granting web sites a seal of approval that is unique to the official approval body and that cannot be easily copied; and (2) allows visitors to a web site to easily verify that an apparent seal of approval actually is an authentic one that has been properly granted by the approval body. Beginning sometime this month, the system will be used as the foundation of a seal-of-approval program to be administered by the Japan Direct Marketing Association.


Background

Business transactions and other exchanges over the Internet have thus far been limited in part because of users' concerns regarding the reputability of web site publishers and the information that they present. Among the biggest fears of users are concerns about the accuracy of product information presented on web sites, the handling of a consumer's personal information by web site publishers, and the credibility of web site publishers themselves.

As a result, programs are being adopted by which initially research is conducted regarding the contents and publishers of web sites and then a seal of approval is granted by an authoritative body if the contents and publisher of a web site meet certain standards.

However, if an approval seal can be copied easily, the approval has no significance.
One solution to this problem involves imbedding - by "digital watermarking" - information that is unique to the approval seal. But this method requires a special plug-in and necessitates that a user install certain software before visiting web sites.


NTT Communications' System

The web site approval-guarantee system developed by NTT Communications utilizes special system-security technology to prevent copying an official seal of approval. This is done in such a way that the approval body does not give the approval seal directly to a web site publisher, but allows the seal to be shown on a web site visitor's computer screen when the visitor accesses a web site that has been approved. This makes it difficult to copy a seal of approval. Also, if the consumer clicks on the approval seal on a web site's homepage, there appears a message stating that the approval seal is guaranteed to be authentic
(see the attachment for an outline of the system).

Thus, with this system, visitors to a web site can very easily know whether what seems to be a seal of approval actually is an authentic seal. Web site visitors will therefore be able to feel confident that they can safely engage in electronic business transactions or other exchanges via the Internet.


Features of the NTT Communications System

1)	The system is highly secure, because a nonapproved web site will have neither an approval seal nor the accompanying message that guarantees that the web site has been approved. Even if the approval seal can somehow be copied, an unapproved web site will have no accompanying message that guarantees the seal, and therefore the web site visitor will be able to determine whether a seal is genuine.
2)	The approval body can give approval not only for a web site, but for each page of a web site as well. Also, approval can be given for each homepage publisher that rents server computers.
3)	Web site visitors can conduct all operations in the same way that they do at present. No special software is necessary.

Plans for the Future

NTT Communications plans to monitor the use of its system through the seal-of-approval program.

NTT Communications will consider commercializing platform services utilizing this system through tie-ups with various approval bodies, because it is expected that the need to guarantee the reliability of information on the Internet will continue to grow.