The Online Trust Alliance (OTA) and the Internet Society (ISOC) announced Tuesday that the two global non-profit organizations have combined resources, expanding the reach and impact of the Internet Society to a broader group of stakeholders and industry members.
The two organizations have a mutual history of working with their members to promote initiatives that enhance online security.
Under the agreement, OTA will operate within the Internet Society, and members will automatically become Internet Society members. Together they will build and expand multiple initiatives including OTA’s annual Online Trust Audit and Cyber Incident Response Guide, and Internet of Things (IoT) Trust Framework.
Founded in 1992, the Internet Society is the organizational home of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Backed by over 95,000 individual members and supporters, 122 chapters around the world, as well as more than 110 organizational members, the Internet Society achieves change through partnerships and expertise in policy, technology and development.
Founded in 2004, OTA has played a key role in bringing together public and private sector stakeholders to develop best practices that maximize consumer trust and consumer protection. It has galvanized industry leaders to develop technical standards and guidelines to fight spam and malvertising, and advance Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), email authentication, native advertising and IoT security and privacy best practices.
OTA’s members and supporters include leaders spanning the technology, ecommerce, social networking, mobile, email, interactive marketing, financial, service provider, government agency and industry organization sectors. The Online Trust Alliance has been recognized by numerous government agencies and trade groups for their contributions and objective voice of reason, focusing on online trust and user empowerment.
“OTA and ISOC are excited to join forces in order to improve online trust, enhance data security, promote responsible privacy practices, and bolster the development and use of an open Internet,” said OTA President and Executive Director, Craig Spiezle. “By working together, OTA’s vision and mission will be sustained and amplified with the resources, reach and stature of the Internet Society.”
“The Internet Society and OTA share the belief that trust is the key issue in defining the future value of the Internet,” said Internet Society President and CEO, Kathryn Brown. “Now is the right time for these two organizations to come together to help build user trust in the Internet. At a time when cyber-attacks and identity theft are on the rise, this partnership will help improve security and data privacy for users,” added Brown.
“OTA’s dedication to increasing online trust, and promoting security and privacy has been valuable cross industry globally,” said American Greetings Interactive Executive Director, Head of Technology and Operations Joseph Yanoska. “We have enjoyed and valued working with OTA for more than ten years, and look forward to leveraging ISOC’s reach and OTA’s public-private relationships to make the Internet more trustworthy for consumers and the online retail community.”
“OTA and ISOC share a deep interest in security and privacy,” said Internet Society Trustee and author of “The Internet for Dummies,” John Levine. “OTA’s experience driving adoption of privacy technology and its long-standing relationships with online businesses bring a new dimension to ISOC.”
