I'll add to it as time goes on, and hopefully updates should find there way to the web server eventually.
I tried to provide the best reference to the original story or to the text itself -- after a while I got lazy and grabbed words from the reports verbatim. If you want the real story or a better reference, you can try to email me.
June 23, 1995 Visa and MasterCard announce plans to
develop a protocol for credit card payments
over the Internet. Visa's alliance with
Microsoft, and MasterCard’s alliance with
Netscape are public knowledge. However, even
though, "MasterCard and Visa are two companies
that are usually viewed as competitors. 'There
are, and their have been, areas where its in
our best interest to work together,' Richard
Lonergan, Visa's executive vice president,
point of transaction, said. He listed other
areas where the companies have worked together,
including agreeing on traditional point-of-
purchase systems in stores." [Clari Newsbytes.
Visa, MasterCard Offer Secure Electronic
Commerce 06/23/95. NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK,
U.S.A., 1995 JUN 23 (NB)]
July 13, 1995 CyberCash and CheckFree announce a joint
venture of offering products which can be
easily integrated into any browser or merchant
server to credit card or debit transactions
over the Internet.
July 18, 1995 Netscape announces Netscape Secure
Courier. Intuit and MasterCard announce they
will support this protocol in their products
and services.
August 21, 1995 "VeriFone (NYSE:VFI), a developer of
automated transaction systems and software,
announced an agreement to acquire Enterprise
Integration Technologies (EIT), a developer of
software and services related to Internet
commerce. The $28 million deal is intended to
strengthen VeriFone's position in the market of
Internet commerce." [Clari Newsbytes. VeriFone
Acquires Enterprise Integration Technologies
08/21/95. REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A.,
1995 AUG 21 (NB)]
September 27, 1995 - Visa and Microsoft release news related
to the stt specifications. MasterCard and Visa
are "noticeable absent" from the announcement.
Microsoft also releases pct, complaining that
Microsoft felt uncomfortable with the level of
security in Netscape's ssl.
Fears that Microsoft will charge a transaction
fee for every credit card over the Internet are
raised. [This fear was raised by statements
from Netscape according to Louise Kehoe in
Rivalry for Internet Security Grows Financial
Times, September 28, 1995, p.1. In the
Sandberg article below a representative of
Netscape was quoted as saying, "Microsoft is
trying to funnel every electronic transaction
through them[Microsoft.]"]
September 28, 1995 - News regarding Microsoft's demand of a
20% stake in, and a seat on the board of
Netscape becomes widely publicized. On the
27th, "James Clark, chairman of Netscape,
asserted that Microsoft had demanded a 20%
stake and a seat on the board of Netscape
earlier this year in return for giving Netscape
important technical data on Microsoft's new
operating system."[Jared Sandberg. Infighting
Unravels Alliance Seeking Standard to Protect
Internet Purchases. Wall Street Journal.
Thursday, September 28, 1995]
October 3, 1995 - MasterCard releases news of the sepp
specifications to the world along with its
partners ibm, Netscape, CyberCash Inc. and gte.
Some of the similarities between it and stt are
startling.
October 25, 1995 - Mondex faces possible legal action after
admitting transactions made with its supposedly
anonymous electronic cash cards can be traced.
[ Gavin Clarke and Madeleine Acey, Network
Week, London, Vol 1 No. 8, 25 October 1995]
October 26, 1995, COLUMBUS, Ohio Q Continuing in its mission
to bring convenient, efficient and easy-to-use
electronic commerce solutions to homes,
businesses and financial institutions,
Checkfree Corporation (NASDAQ: CKFR) today
announced an innovative consumer bill delivery
service. The service is being pilot tested
with consumers in Texas, New Jersey and
Pennsylvania.
October 30, 1995 - The Security First Network Bank
established by Cardinal Bancshares -- a small
Kentucky savings and loan institution is the
first financial institution to conduct true
online banking over the Internet. [Louise
Kehoe. Online bank era dawns. Financial
Times, October 30, 1995, p. 13.]
November 2, 1995 - Backed by the European Commission, a
consortium of 20 partners from European
industry and academia has embarked on a
research project to develop the fundamentals
for secure electronic commerce. The goal
of the 9-million ECU (approx. 14 million CHF)
project, SEMPER (Secure Electronic Marketplace
for Europe), is to provide the first open and
comprehensive solutions for secure commerce
over the Internet and other public information
networks. [Press Release]
November 13, 1995 - VeriFone, the US-based credit card
processing company, has announced a system
which allows customers to buy goods over the
Internet and provides online retailers with a
complete set of tools to handle electronic
cash, cheques and credit card payments. [The
Financial Times via Fulfillment by INDIVIDUAL,
Inc. November 13, 1995]
November 13, 1995 - AT&T just made it easier for businesses
to conduct electronic commerce by introducing
two new services at the Comdex Show in Las
Vegas. AT&T Easy World Wide Web(TM) Services
is the first Internet hosting business to offer
merchants and other businesses hassle-free
publishing on the Internet with complete
control over the design and content of the
information published. [Business Wire via
Fulfillment by INDIVIDUAL, Inc. November 13,
1995 ]
November 14, 1995 - Hewlett-Packard is bidding for US
government approval for a worldwide
cryptographic framework, which is being to
provide a security for a joint smartcard
project with Gemplus and Informix.
November 16, 1995 - Dave Crocker reports that John Gould of
MasterCard formally turned over the sepp
specifications to ansi that afternoon at a
MasterCard briefing at Comdex. Glenda Barnes,
chair of X9F, accepted the specification and
reported that the ansi body X9A10 had been
formed and would pursue further work on the
specification. Of importance with regards to
time, was that the specification would be fast-
tracked via the DSTU process. The new working
group is chaired by Tom Jones of Intel --
previously with ViaCrypt -- and is being
carried out in the banking area, X9A, chaired
by Mark Zalewski, with cooperation from the
security area, X9F. Two of X9F's working
groups are likely to cooperate, one on access
control and one on network security. [The text
is taking almost verbatim from an email from
Dave Crocker to the IETF-payments list of the
same date.]
November 17, 1995 - Microsoft shares drop $4.125 at $89.875
on Nasdaq after the highly regarded money
manager analyst Rick Sherlund of Goldman, Sachs
& Co removed MS stock from his companies
recommended list and downgraded it to "moderate
outperformer" status. This action was taken
because of concerns over Microsoft's Internet
strategy and its competition from telcos, ibm,
Netscape, and others in the Internet realm.
[Clari Newsbytes. Microsoft Stock Tumbles Amid
Concerns over Internet Strategy. Mid November
1995. SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters)]
November 29, 1995 - Boston--Getting the government involved
in maintaining Internet data privacy may not be
popular, but it's going to be
necessary. That's the message Netscape
Communications chair Jim Clark
delivered this morning in his keynote address
to an audience here at Email World and Internet
Expo. [Anne Knowles . Uncle Sam Needed for Net
Security. Daily News, November 29, 1995]
December 4, 1995 - Intuit Corp., maker of the popular
Quicken financial software, will provide on-
line banking over the Internet, marking a
shift from its strategy of hooking up customers
directly with their banks through private
networks. [From: C-ap@clari.net (AP) Subject:
Intuit Plans Internet Banking Date: Mon, 4 Dec
1995 9:21:21 PST]
December 4, 1995 - San Francisco, Dec 4 (Reuter) - Sun
Microsystems Inc. and Netscape Communications
Corp. Monday unveiled a new programming
language in a bid to beat rival Microsoft Corp.
in the race to set standards for new Internet-
based software. Microsoft, the
world's biggest computer software company, is
also investing heavily in developing
programming software for Internet
applications, and is expected to unveil its new
lineup of products later this week. The move
by the Sun and NetScape to introduce
Javacscript sent shares of the two companies
soaring on the Nasdaq market. NetScape jumped
$12.25 to $149.50 while Sun added $5.50 to
$89.875 in late afternoon trading on Nasdaq.
[clari]
December 7, 1995 - Redmond, Wash. (AP) -- Microsoft Corp.
capitulated to the rising appeal of the
Internet Thursday, revamping its own on-line
service and buying the rights to another
company's technology for exploiting the global
computer network. [Clari. Subject: Microsoft
Revamps On-Line Plan. Date: Thu, 7 Dec 1995
11:00:13 PST]
December 7, 1995 - Denver (NB) -- A Denver, Colorado,
company says it has developed a system that
lets online shoppers pay for their purchases
with an electronic check that lets the business
collect for the purchase instantly. The
system, known as Online Check System, from
Audio Check Systems, offers one solution to
the hurdle faced by online merchants -- that
of providing a secure means of payment that
can't be intercepted by hackers. [Clari
NewsBytes]
December 8, 1995 - Redwood City, Calif. (Reuter) - Netscape
Communications Corp. Friday vowed to wage a
``dog-fight'' with rival Microsoft Corp. to
set future standards for Internet software, a
day after Microsoft set forth a strategy to
parlay its operating systems dominance to make
it a leading player on the Internet. In
remarks to a Price Waterhouse software industry
forum here, Netscape chief executive James
Barksdale said that, ``It will be a dog-fight,
no doubt about it'' of the competition with
the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant.
[clari]
December 8, 1995 - Palo Alto, Calif., Dec 8 (Reuter) - Sun
Microsystem Inc. won a ringing endorsement of
its role in cyberspace this week when several
companies including Microsoft Corp. announced
plans to license its Internet-based programming
language. [Clari: Subject: Sun Microsystems
Java gains further appeal. Date: Fri, 8 Dec
1995 15:30:17 PST]
December 8, 1995 - New York (AP) -- On the heels of ABC's
announcement of a 24-hour news channel, NBC is
close to disclosing its own deal with
strategic partner Microsoft Corp. for an all-
news channel that would have branches in
cyberspace. [Clari: Subject: NBC, Microsoft
May Sign Deal. Date: Fri, 8 Dec 1995 18:30:08
PST.]
December 14, 1995. San Jose, (NB) -- Netcom On-Line
Communication Services (NASDAQ:NETC) and
Security First Network Bank, FSB have
announced an industry alliance that officials
from both companies said will help new and
existing Netcom customers take advantage of
banking via the Internet. [clari.tw.new_media]
December 21, 1995.- Herndon, Virginia. (NB) -- US Order
(NASDAQ:OSOR) recently introduced a new
electronic banking product that lets merchants
send monthly statements to their customers via
the World Wide Web. The product is called
Electronic Merchant Center (EMC) biller
workstation. It lets the merchant design bill
templates, transmit customized marketing
information, and give customers direct access
to statement information if they have an
Internet connection. [clari.tw.new_media]
December 23, 1995 - CyberCash this week plans to offer its
shares of stock to the public. It is one of a
handful of fledgling companies that hope to
coin profits by helping others make financial
transactions on the Internet. But consumers
still worry that hackers on the Internet can
ferret out credit card information. [WashP]
January 3, 1996 - Fairfield, Conn. (Reuter) - General
Electric Co. said Tuesday it launched a secure
Internet-based network that enables suppliers
to bid for its contracts from their desktop
computers.
January 15, 1996 - Digital Equipment filed a patent last
August for a payment system called Millicent,
which enables Web-site operators to charge as
little as a tenth of a cent for each customer
"hit." The system relies on middle-men credit
card companies or digital banks -- to handle
the transactions, but its novelty lies in its
cost-effective design geared toward tracking
minuscule amounts of cash. To keep disk
storage at a minimum, security measures
providing privacy and a trail of signed
receipts are not included in the system, but
proponents point out that would-be
cyberthieves would have to crack a lot of trans-
actions -- 10,000 at 0.1 cent each -- to make
just $10. "There are easier ways to make 10
bucks," says Millicent's inventor. [Business
Week 15 Jan 96 p90]
January 18, 1996. - New York -- International Business
Machines Corp., caving in to intense government
pressure, agreed to include a special key that
helps investigators tap into data messages in
return for permission to export a more-secure
version of its Lotus Notes software. [Thomas E.
Weber. IBM Compromises on Encryption Keys,
U.S. Allows Export of More-Secure Notes. Wall
Street Journal, Jan 18, 1996]
January 22, 1996 - Netscape Communications Corp and VeriFone
Inc. today will announce plans to develop
software to make it easier for merchants and
banks to accept credit-card payments over the
Internet. [Joan E. Rigdon. VeriFone and
Netscape Plan Software To Ease Internet Credit-
Card Payments. Wall Street Journal, January 22,
1996, p. B8.]
January 22, 1996 - Kansas City, MISSOURI, U.S.A., -- Block
Financial, an H & R Block (NYSE:HRB), company,
has announced a Visa card created just for
Internet and World Wide Web users. [Clari 1996
JAN 25 (NB)]
January 26, 1996 - Fairfax.-- UUNET Technologies
(Nasdaq:UUNT) is offering a World Wide Web
hosting service that includes a full range of
security services for commercial and private
applications, including use of PGP (pretty good
privacy) encryption. [ Clari: 1996 JAN 22 (NB)
]
February 1, 1996 - Visa And Mastercard Combine Security
Specifications For Card Transactions On The
Internet Into One Standard. Move Expected to
Accelerate Development of Electronic Commerce
and Bolster Consumer Confidence in the
Security of Cyberspace Transactions [Visa/MC
PR]
February 6, 1996 - Rockville, Md.,-- General Electric's GE
Information Services division said it is
launching a new set of hardware and software
products that will protect business
transactions over the Internet. One of the
features of the new system, called "GE
InterBusiness," involves using one-time use
encryption codes for each online session. [PR
http://www.geis.com/.]
February 6, 1996 - Washington, Strong Encryption Weak, Say
Crypto Gurus: Strong encryption is weak,
reports a group of prominent cryptographers and
computer scientists. Their report, released
yesterday, is expected to play an important
role in coming debates over US policy on
exports of software that includes encryption
capabilities. [?CypherPunks?]
Februrary 7, 1996 - San Diego, First Virtual Holdings, a
company offering an Internet commerce system,
has demonstrated a program which, it says,
makes all existing software systems that
encrypt credit card numbers and transmit them
over the Internet vulnerable to security
breaches. [NB] /** Editorial Note: this fault
was received by many in the security as
overblown hype**/
February 8, 1996 - New York, (Reuter) - The Internet craze
has spawned a new hot area on Wall Street --
network security -- and after watching its
competitors shine in the public arena, industry
leader CheckPoint Software Technologies Ltd. is
mulling an initial public offering. [ClariNet]
February 8, 1996 -RSA Data Security Inc., the dominant
supplier of data-privacy software, announced an
unusual partnership with the Chinese government
that exploits loopholes in U.S. export
restrictions on codemaking technology. As part
of the deal, RSA, which is based in Redwood
City, Calif., plans to fund an effort by
Chinese government scientists to develop new
encryption software. The Chinese-developed
software, based on RSA's general mathematical
formula, may be more powerful than versions now
permitted for export under U.S. Iaws, said
James Bidzos, RSA's president. [ Don Clark.
China, U.S. Firm Challenge U.S. On Encryption-
Software Exports Wall Street Journal, February
8, 1996, p. A10.]