PGP Corporation

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

PGP Corporation
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryComputer Software
Founded2002 (2002)[1]
Menlo Park, California, U.S.
HeadquartersMenlo Park, Salt Lake City, London, Frankfurt, Tokyo
ProductsEncryption applications and management platform
Number of employees
225 (2006)
ParentSymantec
Websitewww.pgp.com

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.

The second developer hired, Hal Finney, went on to become the bitcoin network's first transaction recipient in 2009.[11]

References
  1. "PGP Corporation Corporate Backgrounder" (PDF). PGP Corporation. June 30, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  2. "Form D: Notice of Sale of Securities" (PDF). US SEC. April 4, 2003. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  3. Philip Zimmermann (1999). "Why I Wrote PGP". Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  4. "Network Associates". Computer Hope web site. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  5. John Leyden (October 22, 2002). "PGP reborn makes its pitch for the mainstream". The Register. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  6. John Leyden (April 16, 2004). "PGP to integrate anti-virus defences". The Register. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  7. Iain Thomson (May 24, 2016). "Apple hires crypto-wizard Jon Callas to beef up security". The Register. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  8. Dan Kaplan (February 2, 2010). "PGP buys Chosen Security for trusted ID management". SC Magazine. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  9. "Symantec to Offer Broadest Data Protection Capabilities with Acquisition of PGP Corporation and GuardianEdge". Press release. Archived from the original on May 2, 2010. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  10. John Leyden (April 29, 2010). "Symantec buys PGP and GuardianEdge too: Crypto shopping spree". The Register. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  11. Popper, Nathaniel (2014-08-30). "Hal Finney, Cryptographer and Bitcoin Pioneer, Dies at 58". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-22.
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