Italian Vulcanology Institute Selects Comodo SSL

Jersey City, NJ, December 04, 2009 - Experts at the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology (INGV) faced controversy when they decided to relocate the July, 2009, G8 Summit to l'Aquila, Italy. Deciding on an SSL certificate to protect their website was much easier.

L'Aquila had been battered by a 5.6 Richter earthquake three months beforehand. The temblor had demolished buildings and ruined antiques.

Upon the recommendation of the INGV, the summit moved to the battered city. Another quake during the summit might have endangered heads of state from Canada, the Russian Federation, France, German, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the European Council and the President of the European Commission. Fortunately, the agency's call kept the G8 leaders safe, enabling them to make momentous decisions such as saluting Afghanistan's self-managed election process.

The Vulcanology Institute made another good call when it needed to secure its computer networks.

The INGV monitors geophysical phenomena in both the solid and fluid components of the earth, providing 24-hour countrywide seismic surveillance, real-time volcanic monitoring, early warning and forecast activities. State-of-the-art networks of geophysical sensors deliver a continuous flow of observations to its acquisition centers in Rome, Naples and Catania. In addition to being analyzed for research and civil defense purposes, the data supplied by numerous monitoring networks are regularly distributed to the public institutions concerned, to the scientific community and to the public. Keeping those networks both available and secure was important. To do that, they needed to find a reliable vendor of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates. They decided upon a Comodo Platinum SSL certificate.

"We found in Comodo a quick and valid solution," said Dr. Marco Missori, Chief Technology Officer at INGV.

The INGV operates in close coordination with the Italian Ministry of University and Research and with Civil Protection authorities, both nationally and locally. INGV also cooperates with the Italian Ministries of Environment, Education, Defense and Foreign Affairs.

The INGV's computer network is vital to the safety not only of international dignitaries, but also to Italians living and working around Mt. Etna, an active volcano, and the landslide areas in Umbria. "We thank Comodo's personnel for making the installation of SSL protection in our network in a professional and short time," said Dr. Missori.

Photo: INGV 1 INGV 2

Photos courtesy Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology.

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