DigiCert

DigiCert Inc
Private company
Industry Internet security, Public key infrastructure
Founded 2003 (2003)
Headquarters Lehi, Utah, United States
Key people
 CEO: Nicholas Hales, COO: John Merrill
Website www.digicert.com

DigiCert Inc is a privately held, US based X.509 SSL certificate authority (CA). As a trusted third party, DigiCert verifies the authenticity of secure websites on behalf of a web browser.

As a founding member of the CA/Browser Forum, the group that sets industry standards for publicly trusted digital certificates,[1] DigiCert assisted in the development of the Extended Validation Certificate, which provides enhanced identity verification of certificate holders.[2] DigiCert also worked in conjunction with Microsoft to develop and promote the use of subject alternate names in SSL certificates, for use with Microsoft Exchange Server.[3]

DigiCert is the largest public CA that does not issue "domain validated", "low assurance", or "instant" SSL certificates either directly or through a subsidiary brand. It primarily sells Organization Validation (OV) and Enhanced Validation (EV) SSL certificates.[4]

DigiCert Inc. is of no relation to Digicert Sdn. Bhd, a Malaysian-based certification authority that issues certificates with weak keys and had its trust revoked by web browsers.[5][6][7]

History

DigiCert was founded by Ken Bretschneider in 2003. He was named as a finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2012 as a result.[8][9] He served as CEO and Chairman of the Board until he left in 2012 to head up People Water[10] and was replaced by Nicholas Hales.[11] DigiCert is currently majority-owned by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, with TA Associates holding a minority share. Thoma Bravo acquired a majority stake in DigiCert on Aug. 28, 2015 in one of the largest investments in a Utah-based company to date, stating that "DigiCert represents an outstanding investment opportunity to back a market leader . . . known for its consistent innovation and first-rate customer service.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "About the CA/Browser Forum". CAB Forum. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  2. ↑ "About the CA/Browser Forum". CAB Forum. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  3. ↑ Archived January 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ "Domain Validated SSL? Why We Don't Offer It". Digicert.com. 2009-02-19. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  5. ↑ "SSL Certificate Support - Entrust, Inc". Entrust.net. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  6. ↑ Revoking Trust in DigiCert Sdn. Bhd Intermediate Certificate Authority, Mozilla. "DigiCert Sdn. Bhd is a Malaysian subordinate CA under Entrust and Verizon (GTE CyberTrust). It bears no affiliation whatsoever with the US-based corporation DigiCert, Inc., which is a member of Mozilla’s root program."
  7. ↑ Microsoft Security Advisory (2641690) "DigiCert Sdn. Bhd is not affiliated with the corporation DigiCert, Inc., which is a member of the Microsoft Root Certificate Program."
  8. ↑ Chandler, Jeff. "Entrepreneur of the Year 2012". DigiCert.com. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Ken Bretschneider's Nomination for Entrepreneur of the Year". PeopleWater.com. July 14, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  10. ↑ "People Water Names Ken Bretschneider CEO". PRNewswire.com. April 24, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Utah's DigiCert reorganizes its management". Salt Lake Tribune. April 17, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  12. ↑ Sean Michael Kerner (2015-08-28). "Thoma Bravo Invests in Security Firm DigiCert". Eweek.com. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
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