Entrust

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title: "Entrust" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["software-companies-based-in-texas", "companies-based-in-dallas", "computer-security-software-companies", "corporate-spin-offs", "certificate-authorities", "2009-mergers-and-acquisitions", "2013-mergers-and-acquisitions", "software-companies-of-the-united-states", "electronics-companies-established-in-1969", "technology-companies-established-in-1969"] description: "American digital security company" topic_path: "technology/computing" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entrust" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American digital security company ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

Field	Value
name	Entrust Corporation
logo	Entrust logo.svg
former_name	Entrust Datacard
type	Private
foundation
location	Shakopee, Minnesota, U.S.
area_served	Worldwide
key_people	Todd Wilkinson (CEO); Tony Ball (incoming CEO; March 31, 2026)
industry	Information security; Identity and access management (IAM); Public key infrastructure; Digital identity; Cryptography
num_employees
num_employees_year
homepage
::

| name = Entrust Corporation | logo = Entrust logo.svg | former_name = Entrust Datacard | type = Private | foundation = | location = Shakopee, Minnesota, U.S. | area_served = Worldwide | key_people = Todd Wilkinson (CEO); Tony Ball (incoming CEO; March 31, 2026) | industry = Information security; Identity and access management (IAM); Public key infrastructure; Digital identity; Cryptography | num_employees = | num_employees_year = | homepage = Entrust Corporation is an American digital security company headquartered in Shakopee, Minnesota. The company develops hardware and software for card and ID issuance, identity verification, authentication, certificate and key lifecycle management, and post-quantum cryptography. The business traces its roots to Datacard Corporation (founded in 1969) and Entrust Inc. (founded in 1994). Datacard acquired Entrust in 2013, and the combined company rebranded as Entrust in 2020.

Entrust operated a publicly trusted certificate authority until selling its public certificate business to Sectigo in January 2025. Notable acquisitions include nCipher (2019), HyTrust (2021), WorldReach (2021), and Onfido (2024). In July 2025, Entrust named Tony Ball as incoming chief executive officer (CEO) to succeed Todd Wilkinson, effective March 31, 2026.

History

Datacard Corporation (1969-2013)

Datacard Corporation was founded in 1969 by Willis K. Drake, an early Minnesota computer-industry executive and co-founder of Control Data Corporation. Early operations focused on systems that enabled banks and retailers to produce plastic payment cards more quickly, later expanding to secure the personalization of ID and passports. It was publicly traded before being acquired in 1987 by the family investment office of Germany’s Quandt family, which retains long-term ownership.

In April 2000, Datacard acquired Platform Seven (P7), a smart‑card technology unit created by National Westminster Bank (NatWest).

In 2013, Datacard agreed to acquire Entrust Inc. from Thoma Bravo. The combined company later adopted the name Entrust Datacard (2014).

Entrust Technologies Inc. (1994-2013)

Entrust’s public key infrastructure (PKI) software was first released in January 1994 within Northern Telecom’s (Nortel) “Secure Networks” group, which Nortel created to develop and sell PKI products.

In December 1996, Nortel spun off its Secure Networks group as a separate company, Entrust Technologies Inc., to continue to develop and sell PKI software while retaining a majority stake in the new firm.

In late 1999, InfoWorld reviewed version 5.0 of the Entrust PKI. The review compared management experience, cost, and features with competitive offerings, and noted that its certificates would work through 2003 via a recent co-signing partnership with Thawte.

In April 2000, Entrust agreed to acquire enCommerce, an authentication and authorization software vendor, in a stock transaction reported at roughly $470–$586 million by contemporary business press.

In 2004, Entrust acquired content‑scanning and compliance technology from Ottawa‑based AmikaNow!.

Entrust purchased Orion Security Solutions, a PKI services provider, in June 2006 (reported price: $8 million). The following month, it acquired Business Signatures Corporation, a California‑based fraud‑detection software firm, for $50 million in cash, as covered by industry press.

Entrust agreed in April 2009 to be taken private by Thoma Bravo, and the deal closed in July 2009.

Entrust Datacard (2013-2019)

Datacard Group acquired Entrust in 2013; the combined company rebranded as Entrust Datacard in 2014.

In February 2019, Entrust Datacard agreed to acquire Thales’s general‑purpose hardware security module (HSM) business, nCipher Security; the divestiture was required by the European Commission as a condition of approving Thales’s acquisition of Gemalto.

Entrust Corporation (2020-present)

On September 14, 2020, the company rebranded from Entrust Datacard to Entrust and changed its legal entity name to Entrust Corporation.

In April 2021, Entrust acquired Ottawa‑based WorldReach Software, which developed digital identity and travel‑document solutions for governments and border programs.

On April 9, 2024, Entrust completed the acquisition of UK identity‑verification firm Onfido.

On June 27, 2024, the Google Chrome Security Team and Chrome Root Program announced that Chrome would stop trusting newly issued TLS server certificates chaining to Entrust and its AffirmTrust roots. After an update to align enforcement with a major release, the change began in Chrome 131 on November 12, 2024, and applied to certificates whose earliest Signed Certificate Timestamp (SCT) was dated after November 11, 2024, 11:59:59 PM UTC; previously issued certificates were not affected by default trust changes.

On July 31, 2024, Ben Wilson, Mozilla’s Root Store Manager, announced that Mozilla would set a distrust-after date of November 30, 2024, for TLS certificates chaining to Entrust and AffirmTrust roots, meaning Firefox would not trust certificates issued after that date; earlier issuance would remain unaffected.

Following the sale to Sectigo in January 2025, Sectigo completed Entrust public certificate customer migration to its platform on September 29, 2025. Entrust continues to offer private and managed PKI and software.

On January 29, 2025, Entrust sold its public certificate authority business to Sectigo.

In July 2025, Entrust announced that Tony Ball would succeed Todd Wilkinson as CEO, with the transition effective March 31, 2026.

References

References

1. Kennedy, Patrick. (2020-09-14). "Shakopee-based Entrust rebrands to emphasize its growing data security business".
2. (2000-03-14). "Datacard Group acquires Platform Seven".
3. (1999-05-05). "NatWest Moves into Smartcards".
4. Wursthorn, Michael. (2013-12-17). "Thoma Bravo Sells Entrust to DataCard". Wall Street Journal.
5. (1999-03-30). "Form 10-K".
6. Sullivan, Jennifer. (1998-08-17). "Trusting Entrust". Wired.
7. Borck, James R.. (1999-12-27). "Entrust/PKI secures e-business". InfoWorld Media Group, Inc..
8. (2000-04-18). "Entrust to Acquire enCommerce In Deal Valued at $586 Million". Wall Street Journal.
9. Cox, Beth. (2000-04-20). "Entrust Acquires enCommerce in $470 Million Deal".
10. Ilett, Dan. (2004-05-20). "Entrust buys AmikaNow!".
11. Welsh, William. (2004-05-19). "Entrust to acquire content scanning capabilities".
12. Welsh, William. (2006-06-15). "Entrust buys Orion Security Solutions".
13. Messmer, Ellen. (2006-07-24). "Entrust acquires Business Signatures for $50 million".
14. "Entrust acquiring Business Signatures".
15. Wakeman, Nick. (2009-04-13). "Entrust finds its suitor in Thoma Bravo".
16. Martin, Zack. (2014-11-18). "Entrust Datacard reveals new brand, partnerships and products".
17. Townsend, Kevin. (2019-02-22). "Entrust to Acquire Hardware Security Module Maker nCipher".
18. (2018-12-10). "Mergers: Commission approves acquisition of Gemalto by Thales, subject to conditions".
19. DePass, Dee. (2019-06-11). "Entrust Datacard in Shakopee buys 300-employee hardware security business".
20. Corfield, Gareth. (2019-02-22). "Entrust Datacard lined up to unburden Thales of nCipher biz as price for Gemalto buyout". The Register.
21. Sali, David. (2021-04-19). "ID verification powerhouse Entrust acquires Ottawa-based WorldReach".
22. Sorrells, Mitra. (2021-04-20). "Entrust privacy software company acquires travel specialist WorldReach".
23. Hornstein, Oscar. (2024-04-09). "Entrust completes acquisition of ID verification startup Onfido".
24. Lunden, Ingrid. (2024-02-06). "Entrust is buying AI-based ID verification startup Onfido, sources say for $650M".
25. Chrome Security Team, Chrome Root Program. (2024-06-27). "Sustaining Digital Certificate Security - Entrust Certificate Distrust".
26. Winder, Davey. (2024-09-17). "New Google Chrome Security Change—Websites Must Act Before 11/12". Forbes.
27. Jones, Connor. (2024-08-01). "Firefox's Mozilla follows Google in losing trust in Entrust's TLS certificates". The Register.
28. Lynn, Samara. (2025-09-29). "Sectigo Completes Entrust Certificate Migration Following Acquisition".
29. Rundle, James. (2025-01-29). "Exclusive {{!}} Sectigo Buys Entrust’s Public Certificate Business". Wall Street Journal.
30. Novinson, Michael. (2025-07-23). "New Entrust CEO Tony Ball Aims for Identity Life Cycle Shift".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::