June 26, 2012

Social Media and eCommerce Sites Lead the Way in Security and Privacy, According to Online Trust Alliance's 2012 Honor Roll: Twitter Cited As a Leader Among Social Media, While BofA, PayPal, Walmart and Zynga Also Score High

The Online Trust Alliance (OTA) recently released the fourth annual Online Trust Honor Roll recognizing website adoption of key technologies to help protect consumer privacy and security. The Honor Roll, determined by a composite analysis of ten security and privacy best practices, honors approximately 30% of top e-commerce sites, 20% of FDIC 100 sites, and 50% of social media sites. Social media and e-commerce sites represent the strongest sectors in terms of supporting privacy and security best practices, and scored average online trust index (OTI) rankings of 75.6 and 75.1 respectively, based on a normalized score of 1 to 100. Based on OTA's review of over 1,200 sites, several companies stand out as leaders, including Twitter, which scored at the top of nearly every criterion and recently embraced the support of Do Not Track (DNT) privacy preferences, demonstrating commitment to self-regulation. Other leading recipients include American Greetings Interactive, Bank of America, Costco, Charles Schwab, eHarmony, PayPal, Publishers Clearing House, Walmart and Zynga. Surprisingly, the FDIC 100 received the lowest OTI, 65.5, reflected in part by its broad data-sharing practices, occurrences of loss incidents and lower levels of support of key technology standards. "OTA's work to recognize best practices for sites underscores the importance of focusing on security and privacy holistically," said Craig Spiezle, executive director and president of the Online Trust Alliance, in a news release. "This year's honor roll recipients have demonstrated exceptional leadership and commitment toward consumer protection and to enhance the vitality of the Internet."

"We've been working on a number of ways to update the security of our service and systems," said Bob Lord, Twitter security chief, in the release. "We're honored by the recognition the OTA has given us, and support their hard work in this area. We share their holistic approach to security and privacy in pursuit of the best possible user experience."

"We're honored and humbled by the recognition from the Online Trust Alliance," said Nils Puhlmann, chief security officer at Zynga, in the release. "Our philosophy is to protect how we work and play, and we consistently focus on maintaining and protecting the trust of our customers. Organizations like the OTA are essential for delivering industry best practices, and we'll continue to work hand-in-hand with the community to bring new issues to light and solve challenges."

Highlights of the OTA 2012 Online Trust Honor Roll and Scorecard:

• Nearly 30% of the sites earned entry into the Honor Roll for successfully implementing several key best practices including maximizing SSL server security, adopting privacy best practices and email authentication.
• Email authentication adoption continues to rise, with more than 68% of top 100 eCommerce sites adopting both SPF and DKIM.
• Average SSL scores for all sectors ranged from approximately 68% (Federal Gov't) to 80% (Social Media).
• Worldwide adoption of EV SSL certificates increased 48% over 2011.
• 66% of OTA members qualified for the Honor Roll, reflecting their commitment to online trust and self-regulation.