eMountain Communications introduces secure,
encrypted e-commerce and e-mail services

(Elgin, Ill.) April 25, 2000 — Clicking on a computer’s mouse to send sensitive, personal information over the Internet can be an unnerving experience: Will the information truly be kept secure, or will one surprisingly find thousands of dollars of merchandise purchased from an exotic locale on his or her next credit card statement?

To assist Church of the Brethren members and agencies and other people of faith in safely utilizing the Internet’s e-commerce capabilities, eMountain Communications has established secure, encrypted e-commerce and e-mail services.

eMountain Communications, the electronic ministry of Church of the Brethren Benefit Trust, will design, implement, and host e-commerce sites for Brethren individuals and agencies looking to sell products, receive conference registrations, or take donations online using encrypted Web servers.

This service includes an online merchant account, CyberCash account, e-mail addresses, Web site design, and product catalog configuration, along with up to one hour each month for catalog maintenance and up to three hours per month for product maintenance. It also features e-mail notification of orders for distribution, statistical data on products, and the collection and distribution of funds.

“The potential that the Internet holds for conducting business is limited only by the uncertainty people have in sending personal information online,” said Michael Addison, eMountain Communications project director. “Our encrypted Web hosting and e-mail capabilities remove that uncertainty for Church of the Brethren agencies and organizations, and for businesses affiliated with denominational members.”

“eMountain can now confidentially and securely receive credit card transactions and send back an encrypted e-mail confirmation, accept conference registrations, and offers myriad other secure applications that businesses are looking to utilize on the Internet,” Addison added.

Unlike some secure Web services that outsource its encrypted services to another computer company, the secure Web computer that houses eMountain’s encrypted Web pages and generates encrypted e-mails is housed at eMountain’s headquarters alongside its nonsecure Web servers — there is no third party involvement; all confidential information is maintained by the same organization that has maintained pension accounts for Brethren pastors and employees for over 50 years.

Furthermore, the integration of eMountain’s Web servers in one location means a short response time to queries — there’s no waiting for one computer in Illinois to redirect to a computer in California that needs to be verified by a computer in New York.

However, organizations or businesses that prefer having their Web site hosted elsewhere but that are looking for secure, encrypted Web hosting for its confidential Web pages can utilize eMountain’s services by storing those pages on eMountain’s secure server. Users of those Web sites would then be redirected to eMountain’s servers each time a confidential query was made, receiving a message stating that they were now entering a secure domain.

“Our clients’ clients are made aware that information they give on the Internet is secure, which makes everyone happy,” Addison said.

Specific features and prices are quoted on an individual basis. There is a discount for agencies or businesses that have their full Web site hosted with eMountain.

For more information, contact Michael Addison at 800-250-5757 or at mjaddison@emountain.net.