AOL will release AOL Instant Messenger 5.2 and AIM Enterprise Gateway 2.0, which will allow users to send encrypted messages, conduct encrypted chat and transfer encrypted files over an encrypted channel.
VeriSign will issue the digital certificates used in the encryption, but they will be provided via AOL. Users will be able to purchase the certificates from a straightforward option in the AIM user interface.
AOL has been working on monetizing its IM services, which are usually free and do not even require the user be an AOL subscriber, since last November, when it announced Enterprise AIM and related services.
The software still leverages the public AIM network, but adds enterprise-grade features including logging and auditing. Security has been promised as an upgrade for over a year.
It first emerged the two companies were working together May 2002, several months before AOL officially launched the software. A VeriSign executive told us in November that the deal could result in sales of millions of new certs.
VeriSign does not disclose how many personal certificates it has issued, but the number is in the millions. The company has reported for over a year declining sales of its web server certificates, a related business.
AOL will also announce today that the Enterprise AIM Gateway software can be tied into LDAP user directories, so AIM screen names can be mapped onto existing user and group identities and access policies.
The Gateway software, provided primarily from technology developed by FaceTime Communications Inc, will also have a Java-based software development kit made available, to allow developers to build AIM-aware applications.
Source: Computerwire
