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Draft:Sectigo

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  • Comment: This is probably better covered at the article on the parent company, Xcitium. - MrOllie (talk) 18:54, 7 May 2025 (UTC)
  • Comment: Respectfully disagree with MrOllie. Sectigo is it's own independant company. Sources provided below and in talk page. The redirect should be removed. - 181montreal (talk) 15:18, 7 May 2025 (UTC)


Sectigo
FormerlyComodo Certificate Authority (Comodo CA)
Company typePrivate
IndustryComputer security
Headquarters
Scottsdale, Arizona
,
United States
Key people
Kevin Weiss (CEO)[1]
Number of employees
450[2] (2021)
ParentGI Partners
Websitesectigo.com

Sectigo is an American cybersecurity company specializing in digital certificates and automated certificate lifecycle management.[3] It is the world's largest certificate authority. Formerly known as Comodo Certificate Authority (or simply Comodo CA), the company was founded under Comodo Group and was later acquired by Francisco Partners in 2017 and by GI Partners in 2020. Comodo CA became known as Sectigo in 2018. The company has been headquartered in Scottsdale since 2023.

History and operations

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Comodo CA

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Business executive Bill Conner has served as the chair on the board of directors.

Sectigo was established as Comodo Certificate Authority (or simply Comodo CA), a certificate authority (CA) business under the parent company Comodo Group, which was founded by Melih Abdulhayoğlu in 1998.[4][5] In 2016, Comodo CA launched the cloud-based Comodo Certificate Manager, which CRN described as "a full-lifecycle digital certificate management platform" to help companies manage Internet of things (IoT) devices.[6][7]

Comodo CA was acquired by Francisco Partners in 2017. Comodo CA and Comodo Group were legally and operationally separated. Abdulhayoğlu kept a minority ownership stake, took an observer role on Comodo CA's board of directors, and continued to operate Comodo Group as a distinct security business.[4][5] As part of the purchase, Bill Holtz became the CEO and Bill Conner of the cybersecurity company SonicWall was named the chair.[4][6]

The business initially continued with the Comodo brand as leadership considered a rebrand.[5] Comodo CA issued approximately 55 million certificates in 2017,[4] bringing the total number of certificates issued to approximately 91 million, distributed to approximately 200,000 customers in 150 countries.[8][9] In 2018, the company acquired Atlanta-based CodeGuard to help customers protect websites from malware via backup, IT disaster recovery, and maintenance.[10][11]

Sectigo

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Comodo CA became known as Sectigo in 2018, in part to avoid confusion with the parts of Comodo Group not acquired by Francisco Partners.[10] Sectigo was the world's largest certificate authority at the time. The company also began supporting IoT devices and introduced new products in 2018.[10] In 2019, Sectigo announced changes to its partner program and launched new certifications, products, rewards, and tools.[12] The company also acquired the West Des Moines, Iowa-based IoT security provider Icon Labs,[13][14] which merged with Sectigo's IoT Security Platform and continued as a brand and subsidiary under Sectigo.[15][16] Security Week said the acquisition allowed Sectigo "to provide visibility and control over each IoT device lifecycle".[16]

GI Partners acquired Sectigo in 2020. Sectigo had approximately 700,000 customers then.[17] In late 2020, Sectigo announced the purchase of the SSL certificate and web security provider SSL247, which operated in 18 countries in Europe and Latin America, as well as the Netherlands-based SSL certificates and digital signatures provider Xolphin. Both of the businesses initially continued to operate as brands under Sectigo.[18]

Sectigo acquired Scottsdale-based SiteLock in 2021.[3] SiteLock's software protected more than 16 million websites and the company had approximately 70 employees in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The acquisition of SiteLock increased Sectigo's employee count of 450 globally.[2] Previously based in Roseland, New Jersey,[1] Sectigo has been headquartered in Scottsdale since 2023.[3] Approximately 26 employees, including 13 programmers and software engineers, work in the Phoenix metropolitan area as of 2025.[3]

Sectigo acquired Entrust's public certificate business in early 2025. Prior to the purchase, Entrust allowed its customers to use certificates from Sectigo.[1] The migration of Entrust's public certificate business included over half a million certificates and was completed in September 2025.[19] Sectigo also began offering Certificates as a Service (CaaS) in 2025.[20][21]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Rundle, James (January 29, 2025). "Sectigo Buys Entrust's Public Certificate Business". The Wall Street Journal.
  2. ^ a b Blye, Andy (May 4, 2021). "Cybersecurity firm SiteLock to be acquired by New Jersey buyer as lawsuit against GoDaddy continues". Phoenix Business Journal.
  3. ^ a b c d Gifford, Jeff (February 3, 2025). "Scottsdale cybersecurity firm doubles footprint with acquisition; plus more M&A deals". Phoenix Business Journal.
  4. ^ a b c d Duckett, Chris (October 31, 2017). "Comodo CA sold to private equity as DigiCert completes Symantec CA purchase". ZDNET.
  5. ^ a b c Kerner, Sean Michael (October 31, 2017). "Francisco Partners Acquires Comodo's Certificate Authority Business". eWeek.
  6. ^ a b Murphy, Ian (November 1, 2017). "Francisco Partners acquires Comodo CA business". Enterprise Times.
  7. ^ O'Donnell, Lindsey (October 31, 2017). "Francisco Partners Acquires IoT Security Company Comodo's SSL Business, Bill Holtz Appointed CEO". CRN.
  8. ^ Kovacs, Eduard (October 31, 2017). "A Comodo Sells Certificate Business to Private Equity Firm". Security Week.
  9. ^ "Francisco Partners Takes Majority Stake in Comodo's Certificate Authority Business". The Wall Street Journal. October 31, 2017.
  10. ^ a b c Murphy, Ian (November 2, 2018). "Comodo CA becomes Sectigo and expands to cover IoT". Enterprise Times.
  11. ^ Novinson, Michael (August 16, 2018). "Comodo CA Buys Website Disaster Recovery Startup CodeGuard". CRN.
  12. ^ Todd, Daniel (January 10, 2019). "Sectigo revamps its channel partner programme". ITPro.
  13. ^ Novinson, Michael (May 9, 2019). "Sectigo Buys Embedded OEM And IoT Security Vendor Icon Labs". CRN.
  14. ^ "Sectigo Acquires Icon Labs". Computer Security Update. Vol. 20, no. 6. June 2019. pp. 2–5. JSTOR 48597875 – via JSTOR.
  15. ^ Corfield, Gareth (May 9, 2019). "Cert authority Sectigo whisks infosec biz Icon Labs into IoT security kit". The Register.
  16. ^ a b Arghire, Ionut (May 13, 2019). "Sectigo Acquires IoT Security Firm Icon Labs". Security Week.
  17. ^ Vinn, Milana (September 18, 2020). "GI's purchase of Sectigo values the company at ~$900m". PE Hub.
  18. ^ Coker, James (December 3, 2020). "Sectigo Acquires SSL247 and Xolphin". Infosecurity Magazine.
  19. ^ Lynn, Samara (September 29, 2025). "Sectigo Completes Entrust Certificate Migration Following Acquisition".
  20. ^ Murphy, Ian (April 14, 2025). "CA/Browser Forum votes to reduce SSL/TLS certificates to 47 days". Enterprise Times.
  21. ^ Murphy, Ian (April 18, 2025). "What will the change to 47-day SSL-TLS certificates mean to you?". Enterprise Times.
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Category:Companies based in Scottsdale, Arizona Category:Privately held companies based in Arizona Category:Security companies of the United States

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