PRESS RELEASE

Authentication and Online Trust Alliance Announces Summit 2008;
Approves Board and Chair Positions

SEATTLE, WA - February 26, 2008 - Today, the Authentication and Online Trust Alliance (AOTA) announced its upcoming AOTA Online Trust Summit being held in Seattle, WA, on June 4 and 5. Further, AOTA announced the results of its board of directors election and the 2008 committee chairs.

The preliminary agenda and keynote speakers for the 2008 Authentication and Online Trust Summit include more than 25 sessions with 35 government and business luminaries, including: Michael Barrett, chief information security officer, PayPal; David Daniels, vice president, JupiterResearch; Tom Donlea, executive director, Merchant Risk Council; Rob McKenna, Washington state attorney general; Craig Newmark, founder, Craig's List; Ramesh Ratan, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Direct Marketing Association; Ken Schneider, chief technology officer, Symantec; Howard Schmidt, former chief security officer, Microsoft, chief information security officer, eBay and cyber security advisor, White House; Sal Tripi, director of operations, Publishers Clearing House; Scott Weiss, co-founder, vice president and general manager, IronPort Systems, a division of Cisco; and Michael Zaneis, vice president of public policy, Interactive Advertising Bureau.

Event registration will be live on March 1 with early bird registration open through March 31st. www.aotalliance.org/summit2008. Qualified press and media may register at no charge by emailing staff@aotalliance.org

AOTA Board of Directors and Committee Chair Assignments
AOTA membership reaffirmed AOTA's board of directors, comprised of industry leaders who have a hand in protecting, or protecting the image of, e-commerce, interactive marketing and online banking. Approved are Pablo Stern, director of engineering, messaging and Web security for Symantec, and Jeff Wilbur, vice president of marketing for Iconix. Stern and Wilbur join the existing board, which includes Eric Johnson, vice president of Bank of America, Howard A. Schmidt, president and CEO of R&H Security Consulting LLC, Craig Spiezle, director of Internet security and privacy for Microsoft Corp, and Ken Takahashi, vice president for corporate and international development for Return Path Inc.

In addition, the following committee chair and co-chair positions were elected:

• Authentication Committee
  Chair Pat Peterson, vice president of technology, Cisco Systems
  Co-chair Erik Johnson, vice president, Bank of America

• Brand/Domain Protection
  Rod Rasmussen, president and chief technology officer, Internet Identity

• Communications
  Chair Erin Ickes, director of marketing, Messaging Systems
  Co-chair David Atlas, senior vice president, Goodmail Systems

• Education/Events
  Chair Lana McGilvray, vice president, Datran Media
  Co-chair Erin Ickes, director of marketing, Message Systems

• International
  Chair Manish Goel, chief executive officer, Box Sentry
  Co-chair Chuck Swenberg, vice president of business development, Habeas

• Membership
  Ken Takahashi, Vice President, Corporate & International Development, Return Path

• Privacy & Data Governance
  Ray Everett Church, Esq., director of policy and privacy, Habeas

• Public Policy & Governmental Affairs
  Chair Mike Zanies, vice president of public policy, Interactive Advertising Bureau
  Co-chair Jordan Cohen, Sr. Director, Corporate Communications and Industry Relations, Epilson

• Reputation
  George Bilbrey, VP General Manager, Return Path Inc.

• Technical Committee
  Chair Alec Peterson, director technical service, Message Systems
  Co-chair Scott Chasin, chief technology officer, MX Logic

"AOTA's newly approved board and committee chairs are extremely enthusiastic about their roles and are dedicated to help further AOTA's mission to eliminate email and Internet fraud and abuse to enhance online trust, confidence and online protection of businesses and consumers," said Craig Spiezle, chairman of AOTA and director of Internet security and privacy at Microsoft Corporation. "Their expertise and dedication have been proven through their individual contributions to our collective mission, and AOTA members are looking forward to seeing the force produced as they become a collective group."

About The Authentication and Online Trust Alliance (AOTA):
Founded in October 2004, the mission of AOTA is to foster the elimination of email and Internet fraud, abuse and data intrusions, thereby enhancing online trust, confidence and online protection of businesses and consumers.  The goals include but are not limited to facilitating best practices, data sharing, the deployment and implementation of authentication, identity and reputation solutions as well as domain defense strategies.  By providing the ecosystem prescriptive and actionable advice in a vendor-neutral environment, AOTA aims to increase digital inclusion and Internet usage worldwide by promoting the benefits of Internet safety to users of all ages and demographics. AOTA represents over one million business and 500 million users worldwide, with members in Canada, Denmark, Germany, Romania, Singapore and the United States.  AOTA is a 501c6 IRS-approved non-profit, incorporated as a Washington State non-profit corporation.  AOTA is governed by a Board and Steering Committee including the Bank of America, BoxSentry, Datran Media, Epsilon, Goodmail Systems, Habeas, Iconix, Internet Identity, IronPort (a division of Cisco Systems), Message Systems, Message Systems, Microsoft Corporation, MX Logic, Return Path, Symantec Corporation and VeriSign.

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