Website verification over the past couple of decades as the internet is a fledgling technology to an integral part of our lives, the need for authenticating and trusting online is paramount. This led to the development of various website verification protocols and technologies for online fraud and building credibility and security.
HTML pages were simple documents anyone could create, often with minimal design or programming skills. However, as e-commerce began to pick up in the late 1990s, the transactions led to the advent of SSL certificates. SSL or Secure Sockets Layer encryption authenticated and encrypted links between web servers and browsers. It is first method for websites to signal and be safe for sharing sensitive data. Another development was domain validation and ICANN-accredited registrars. ICANN set validating the registrant’s identity and organization. It prevented anonymous or fake websites from abusing the domain system. Registrars also increasingly offered tools for website owners to prove control over their domains.
Rise of seals and badges
In the 2000s, organizations and companies started offering verification programs that 먹튀사이트could participate in voluntarily. Displaying the organization’s trust seal or trust badges signalled to visitors that the website passed certain identity, security, and privacy checks. Some early trust seals were TRUSTe, Verisign, BBBOnLine, McAfee SECURE, etc. It was an easy visual consumer assurance.
Email authentication protocols such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC also emerged around this time. These were designed to counter email spoofing and phishing schemes by validating sender identities browsers sophisticated, started displaying visual information to indicate website legitimacy and security status. For example, the padlock and HTTPS designation in the URL bar signal the site uses SSL encryption. Government Intervention
The early 2010s saw an increase in government regulation around website verification, especially for businesses operating online. For example, the EU Electronic Identification and Trust Services (eIDAS) introduced standards for electronic identification, signatures, seals, and related website authentication methods. In the US, the IRS mandated stricter ID proofing and authentication for tax sites to combat fraud. The FTC also bolstered guidelines around truth in advertising and transparency for businesses.
Know your customer and compliance
Regulations like KYC or Know Your Customer require financial institutions and regulated businesses to verify identities more stringently before onboarding users digitally. Compliance meant having accredited validation processes often involving two-factor authentication and document verification before access was granted. These percolated down to stricter website verification protocols.
The mid-2010s saw the emergence of digital identity and website verification automation. Advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data analysis gathering and cross-verification of identity signals and attributes across the web. Companies like Nielsen, LexisNexis, Acuant, and Trulioo offered risk scores on identities and businesses based on global data. It reduced the need for tedious manual verification reviews for each website. As blockchain matures, it promises to further transform digital identity and website verification technology. Blockchain’s decentralized, encrypted, and distributed nature of self-sovereign or user-owned doesn’t depend on any third party. Decentralized identifiers (DIDs) tied to blockchain wallets and distributed ledger consensus trusted validation without central authorities.
