In 2006, the CA/Browser Forum, a group of leading SSL Certificate Authorities (CAs) and browser vendors, approved Extended Validation (EV) SSL Guidelines, standard practices for certificate validation. To issue an EV SSL Certificate, a CA must adopt the EV practices and pass an audit.

Browsers were enhanced to make it easy for Web site visitors to recognize the higher standard of EV SSL. A site secured by an SSL Certificate with EV triggers high-security Web browsers to display the organization’s name in a green address bar and show the name of the Certificate Authority that issued it. The browser and the Certificate Authority control the display, making it difficult for phishers and counterfeiters to hijack your brand and your customers.