Bermuda-based Internet security firm QuoVadis has been awarded a contract to provide SSL digital certificates to the higher education system in Switzerland through the SWITCH Foundation, a provider of high performance network and security technologies.

Founded in 1987, SWITCH runs the Swiss Academic and Research Network serving federal technical colleges, cantonal universities, colleges of higher education, and similar organisations across Switzerland. It also operates the registry for web domain names ending in .ch and .li.

With the QuoVadis contract, SWITCH will extend the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) services it already provides to its members. SSL certificates are used to encrypt communications for privacy between devices and web servers, as well as to securely identify who owns or controls those devices on large networks like the Internet.

Among other QuoVadis services, SWITCH will adopt the new Extended Validation SSL for the first time, providing a higher level of confidence in the identity and legitimacy of the certificate holder. New browser versions provide special enhanced security indicators for EV SSL that highlight the name of the device owner, helping users avoid phishing and other Internet attacks. Stephen Davidson, head of service development for QuoVadis, said: "As we expand internationally, QuoVadis has developed an array of web-based tools - called Trustlink - to help us provision large customers like SWITCH. Trustlink allows big organisations to balance control and flexibility in their use of digital certificates across many user groups.

In Bermuda, QuoVadis has provided SSL certificates at no charge to schools for several years to foster the use of security technology. Beneficiaries include Berkeley, BHS, Bermuda College, Cedarbridge, Saltus, Somersfield, and Warwick Academy.