PGP Corporation explained

PGP Corporation
Type:Subsidiary
Foundation:[1]
Menlo Park, California, U.S.
Location:Menlo Park, Salt Lake City, London, Frankfurt, Tokyo
Industry:Computer Software
Products:Encryption applications and management platform
Num Employees:225 (2006)
Parent:Broadcom

PGP Corporation was a company that sold Pretty Good Privacy computer software. It was founded in 2002, and acquired by Symantec in 2010, and by Broadcom in 2019.

History

PGP Corporation was co-founded in June 2002 by Jon Callas and Phil Dunkelberger (who became CEO), based in Menlo Park, California.[1] It was funded by Rob Theis, general partner, Doll Capital Management and Terry Garnett, general partner, Venrock Associates.[2] The company owned the Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) software, which was originally developed by Phil Zimmermann (who had earlier started a company of a similar name).[3] Originally written in 1991, PGP was one of the first freely and publicly available implementations of public-key cryptography. It was originally used to allow individuals to communicate securely through bulletin board systems. PGP later became standardized and supported by many other applications, including email. PGP Corporation acquired the code and rights to the name from Network Associates (NAI) in August 2002.[4] The company released version 9 of the software in 2005.

PGP Corporation's focus shifted towards the corporate market.[5] In 2004, the company announced plans to integrate with Symantec anti-virus technology.[6]

In 2009, Callas left to be a security consultant.[7]

In February 2010, the company acquired certificate authority TC TrustCenter and its parent company, ChosenSecurity, to form its PGP TrustCenter division.[8]

On April 29, 2010, Symantec Corp. announced the acquisition of PGP Corporation for about $300 million cash.[9] [10] The merger was completed in June of that year.

On August 9, 2019, Broadcom Inc. announced they would be acquiring the Enterprise Security software division of Symantec, which includes PGP Corporation.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: PGP Corporation Corporate Backgrounder . PGP Corporation . June 30, 2008 . November 8, 2016 .
  2. Web site: Form D: Notice of Sale of Securities . US SEC . April 4, 2003 . November 8, 2016 .
  3. Web site: Why I Wrote PGP . 1999 . Philip Zimmermann . November 8, 2016 .
  4. Web site: Network Associates . Computer Hope web site . November 8, 2016 .
  5. News: PGP reborn makes its pitch for the mainstream . John Leyden . . October 22, 2002 . November 8, 2016 .
  6. News: PGP to integrate anti-virus defences . John Leyden . The Register . April 16, 2004 . November 8, 2016 .
  7. Web site: Apple hires crypto-wizard Jon Callas to beef up security . May 24, 2016 . The Register . Iain Thomson . November 8, 2016 .
  8. Web site: PGP buys Chosen Security for trusted ID management . Dan Kaplan . SC Magazine . February 2, 2010 . November 8, 2016 .
  9. Web site: Symantec to Offer Broadest Data Protection Capabilities with Acquisition of PGP Corporation and GuardianEdge . Press release . dead . May 2, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100502132932/http://www.symantec.com/about/news/release/article.jsp?prid=20100429_01 . November 8, 2016 .
  10. News: Symantec buys PGP and GuardianEdge too: Crypto shopping spree . John Leyden . The Register . April 29, 2010 . November 8, 2016 .