Mimecast Explained

Mimecast should not be confused with Minecraft.

Mimecast Limited
Type:	Privately held^[1]
Owner:	Permira
Location:	London, England, UK Lexington, Massachusetts, United States^[2] ^[3]
Key People:	Marc van Zadelhoff (CEO) Chris Wey (Chief Transformation Officer) David Call (CFO) Mick Paisley (Chief Security and Resilience Officer) Norman Guadagno (CMO) Janet Prosper (CHRO) David Helfer (Chief Customer and Revenue Officer)
Industry:	Information security E-mail archiving File archiving Cybersecurity
Products:	Email Security Cloud Gateway, Email Security Cloud Integrated; Information Archiving, Mailbox Continuity and Services for Office 365, Cybersecurity Training, Web Security
Num Employees:	2,000 (2022)^[4]

Mimecast Limited is an^{[5] [6]} American–British, Jersey-domiciled company specializing in cloud-based email management for Google Workspace, Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft Office 365,^[7] including security, archiving, and continuity services to protect business mail.

History

Mimecast was founded in 2003 by Peter Bauer and Neil Murray. It has offices in London, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Melbourne, Sydney, Amsterdam, Hilversum, Singapore, Dubai, Bengaluru, Munich, Paris and Israel.^[8] On October 16, 2015, Mimecast announced that it filed its registration statement for a proposed initial public offering (IPO). Mimecast began trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "MIME" on November 19, 2015. The offering closed on November 24, 2015.

Acquisitions

On July 10, 2018, Mimecast acquired cybersecurity training start up Ataata.^{[9] [10]}

On July 31, 2018, Mimecast acquired Solebit.^[11]

On November 14, 2019, Mimecast acquired DMARC Analyzer.^[12]

On January 6, 2020, Mimecast acquired Segasec.^[13]

On May 19, 2022, Mimecast was acquired by and become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Magnesium Bidco Limited, an affiliate of Permira Holdings Ltd.^[14]

On July 24, 2024, Mimecast acquired Code42.^[15]

Founding

Mimecast co-founder and former CEO, Peter Bauer, previously founded FAB Technology in the mid-nineties and sold it to Idion. Earlier, Peter trained as a Microsoft systems engineer and worked with corporate messaging systems.^[16] Mimecast co-founder and former CTO is Neil Murray, previously CTO at Global Technology Services and founder of Pro-Solutions.^[17]

Another significant former executive is Mimecast Chief Scientist Nathaniel Borenstein, who was amongst the original designers of the MIME protocol for formatting multimedia Internet electronic mail - he sent the world's first e-mail attachment on 11 March 1992.^[18]

Technology

The service uses a massively-parallel grid infrastructure for email storage and processing^[19] through geographically dispersed data centers.^{[20] [21]} Its Mail Transfer Agent provides intelligent email routing based on server or user mailbox location.^[22]

Email Security

• Secure Email Gateway: robust and user-optimized protection against spam, malware, and denial-of-service (DoS) and directory harvest attacks (DHA). It features real-time diagnostics and reporting, comprehensive data loss prevention, secure message delivery, email branding, and disclaimer management. Additional capabilities include document conversion and metadata management, real-time online queue management, large attachment handling, advanced email routing, and spooling. This solution ensures a secure and efficient email environment by continuously monitoring and safeguarding inbound, outbound, and internal emails.^[23]
• Email Security Cloud Integrated: a gateway-less solution designed to enhance security for Microsoft 365 environments. It provides robust protection against sophisticated email threats while streamlining security management. The solution deploys rapidly, often in less than five minutes, making it ideal for IT teams seeking quick, scalable security enhancements without added complexity. By leveraging Mimecast’s AI-powered detection and extensive threat intelligence, Cloud Integrated helps organizations improve their security posture and resilience against cyber threats. This solution is particularly suited for organizations looking to bolster their Microsoft 365 defenses with minimal administrative overhead.^[24]
• Targeted Threat Protection: URL rewriting at the gateway with time-of-click scanning for malicious content before being opened.^[25]
• Large File Send: send and receive large files from Outlook, with encryption, optional access key and custom expiration dates.^[26]
• Secure Messaging: secure email channel for sensitive information either user-initiated or policy-driven.^[27]

Information Archiving

• Cloud Archive for Email: Encrypted cloud storage which saves emails in triplicate^[28] in an immutable storage system.^[29] Users can access and search emails through an Outlook desktop client.^[30] Archive access is available via a Mac desktop app and apps for Android, BlackBerry, iOS^[31] and Windows Mobile devices.

Mailbox Continuity

• Continuity: During primary mail system outages, email can be accessed via Microsoft Outlook, through a web browser^[32] and via mobile devices.^[33]

DMARC

• DMARC Analyzer: designed to help organizations manage their DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) records effectively. It provides a user-friendly interface to simplify DMARC deployment and move towards a reject policy swiftly. The solution offers comprehensive visibility and governance across all email channels, helping to prevent email impersonation and improve email security posture. By leveraging detailed reports and analytics, organizations can gain insights into email traffic, identify unauthorized senders, and enforce DMARC policies to protect against phishing and spoofing attacks.^[34]

Awareness Training

• Awareness Training: an engaging, comprehensive platform designed to enhance employees' cybersecurity knowledge and behavior. It covers critical topics such as phishing, ransomware, CEO fraud, and compliance with regulations like HIPAA, PCI, and GDPR. The training uses short, interactive videos that are updated regularly to reflect the latest threat landscape.^[35]

Brand Exploit Protect

• Brand Exploit Protect: advanced online brand protection by identifying and eliminating potential threats before they can launch. This cloud-based solution utilizes machine learning and extensive scanning techniques to detect and neutralize attempts to clone websites, impersonate domains, and deceive customers.^[36]

Security and privacy breaches

In January 2021, a Mimecast security certificate was revealed to have been compromised, potentially allowing attackers to intercept communications with Microsoft-based email servers.^{[37] [38] [39]}

Notes and References

1. Mimecast to Become a Private Company through Transaction with Permira Valued at Approximately $5.8 Billion . 7 December 2021 .
2. Web site: 10 Things to Know About the $5.8B Permira-Mimecast Deal . 7 December 2021 .
3. News: Mimecast Agrees to Permira Takeover in $5.8 Billion Deal . Bloomberg.com . 7 December 2021 .
4. Web site: Company Overview .
5. Web site: 10 Things to Know About the $5.8B Permira-Mimecast Deal . 7 December 2021 .
6. News: Mimecast Agrees to Permira Takeover in $5.8 Billion Deal . Bloomberg.com . 7 December 2021 .
7. Web site: The Future Fifty: the list. 2015-09-21. The Telegraph.
8. Web site: About Mimecast. 2015-09-21. Mimecast.
9. News: 2018-07-10. Cybersecurity training startup Ataata acquired by Mimecast - Technical.ly DC. en-US. Technical.ly DC. 2018-07-12.
10. News: Bethesda-based cybersecurity training startup raises $3M Series A - Technical.ly DC. 2017-12-19. Technical.ly DC. 2018-07-12. en-US.
11. News: Mimecast snaps up security software developer Solebit in $88m deal . ZDNet . 2018-08-01 . 2018-08-01. Charlie. Osborne.
12. Web site: Mimecast Acquires DMARC Analyzer. mimecast. www.mimecast.com. en. 2020-01-10.
13. Web site: Segasec Acquisition. mimecast. www.mimecast.com. en. 2020-01-10.
14. Web site: Mimecast is listed in Permira's Portfolio.. www.permira.com/portfolio/mimecast.
15. Web site: Code42 Acquisition. mimecast. www.mimecast.com. en. 2024-07-24.
16. Web site: Peter Bauer, Co-Founder and CEO, Mimecast. 2011-12-30. Gartner Symposium ITExpo.
17. Web site: V3 Hot Seat: Mimecast CTO and co-founder Neil Murray. 2015-09-19. V3.co.uk.
18. Web site: NSB Home Page . web site, including CV . Feb 27, 2013 .
19. Web site: Mimecast and file server destruction. 2009-12-14. The Register.
20. Web site: Product Review: Mimecast Unified Email Management. 2011-09-25. TheDataChain.com Whitepaper.
21. Web site: Mimecast Hits the Bloor Research Bullseye for Best Practise E-mail Archiving. 2011-09-30. technews.tmcnet.com.
22. Web site: Mimecast Offers Free Microsoft Office 365 Cloud Migration. 2015-09-11. Talkin Cloud. Weinberger.
23. Web site: Mimecast gilds the enterprise email service. 2013-03-05. Information Age.
24. Web site: mimecast . Microsoft 365 . 2024-07-10 . Mimecast . en.
25. Web site: Mimecast takes aim at spear phishing through enterprise cloud email protection ITProPortal.com. 2015-09-21.
26. Web site: Mimecast expands Outlook service with large file support. 2015-09-21. V3.co.uk.
27. Web site: Mimecast adds functionality for endusers and administrators to email security suite. 2015-09-21. SC Magazine.
28. Web site: Mimecast scientist targets email's future. 2013-03-05. BusienessCloud9.
29. Web site: Email compliance - how to get it right. 2013-03-05. Legalbrief Today.
30. Web site: Product Review: Mimecast Unified Email Management. 2011-11-20. MSExchange.org.
31. Web site: Mimecast Mobile Archive. 2013-03-05. ITunes Preview.
32. Web site: Acceleration eMarketing stays online post Superstorm. 2013-03-19. ITWeb. 9 November 2012.
33. Web site: Businesses likely to rethink continuity plans after Blackberry outage. 2013-03-19. Computer Weekly.
34. Web site: mimecast . What Is DMARC? . 2024-07-10 . Mimecast . en.
35. Web site: Customer Community . 2024-07-10 . community.mimecast.com.
36. Web site: Customer Community . 2024-07-10 . community.mimecast.com.
37. Web site: Email security firm Mimecast says hackers hijacked its products to spy on customers . U.S. . 2021-01-12 . 2021-01-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210112194050/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-cyber-mimecast-idUSKBN29H22K . 2021-01-12 . Three cybersecurity investigators, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of an ongoing probe, told Reuters they suspected the hackers who compromised Mimecast were the same group that broke into U.S. software maker SolarWinds and a host of sensitive U.S. government agencies..
38. Web site: Mimecast Discloses Certificate Incident Possibly Related to SolarWinds Hack . SecurityWeek.Com . 2021-01-13 . 2021-01-13 . According to Mimecast, it learned from Microsoft that hackers had compromised a certificate used to authenticate Mimecast Continuity Monitor, Internal Email Protect (IEP), and Sync and Recover products with Microsoft 365 Exchange Web Services. ... The company has not shared any details about the attacks abusing the compromised certificate, but some experts have speculated that the certificate may have allowed the hackers to intercept Mimecast customers’ communications..
39. Web site: Seals . Tara . Mimecast Certificate Hacked in Microsoft Email Supply-Chain Attack . Threatpost . 2021-01-12 . 2021-01-13 . Mimecast provides email security services that customers can apply to their Microsoft 365 accounts by establishing a connection to Mimecast’s servers... A compromise means that cyberattackers could take over the connection, though which inbound and outbound mail flows, researchers said. It would be possible to intercept that traffic, or possibly to infiltrate customers’ Microsoft 365 Exchange Web Services and steal information. 'The attack against Mimecast and their secure connection to Microsoft’s Office 365 infrastructure appears to be the work of the same sophisticated attackers that breached SolarWinds and multiple government agencies,' Saryu Nayyar, CEO at Gurucul, said via email..