Bermuda-based firm QuoVadis is among the first Certification Authorities (CA) to adopt a new internet security standard.The “Baseline Requirements for the Issuance and Management of Publicly-Trusted Certificates” standard was published by the CA/Browser Forum.QuoVadis is a long-standing member of the CA/Browser Forum and contributed to the development of the new baseline requirements, which consolidate many previously fragmented standards and best practices for the issuance and management of SSL/TLS digital certificates.SSL/TLS certificates are an essential part of the internet’s security infrastructure, used to authenticate the ownership of websites and other online resources, as well as to encrypt information for confidentiality. The use of SSL is often noted by “the little yellow padlock” on secure websites in internet browsers.Following a two-year development effort, the final details of the baseline requirements were hammered out at a September meeting of CA/B Forum members and other interested parties hosted by QuoVadis in Bermuda.“Previously Certification Authorities had to interpret overlapping standards from different software providers, regulators, and audit regimes,” said Roman Brunner, CEO of QuoVadis. “With the baseline requirements the core standards are integrated in one document, clarifying responsibilities and increasing accountability for trusted CAs that issue SSL/TLS digital certificates.”He continued: “Over time SSL/TLS has evolved with the growing sophistication of Internet, implemented in a wide array of software and the proven capability to scale to handle many millions of users. By establishing a security benchmark for CAs around the world, the ongoing Baseline Requirements initiative will benefit all users of SSL certificates and the https security they provide.”QuoVadis, along with other major CAs that have chosen to voluntarily adopt the standard, will implement the baseline requirements before the effective date of July 1, 2012. The CA/Browser Forum has requested that Internet browsers and operating systems adopt the baseline requirements among their conditions to pre-distribute CA root certificates in their software.Founded in 1999, QuoVadis is a leading international Certification Authority, issuing both Organisation Validation and Extended Validation SSL certificates as well as digital certificates for end users. QuoVadis is accredited as a Qualified Certification Services Provider (CSP) in several countries, and an issuer of Swiss SuisseID and Dutch PKIoverheid certificates.