CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

DigiCert vs Hornetsecurity

DigiCert ONE is a platform that includes Trust Lifecycle Manager for organizations that require CA-agnostic certificate lifecycle management. Hornetsecurity sells a suite of services for Microsoft 365 security, risk, governance, compliance and backup. CISO Tribune files both under Email authentication and DMARC. This page sets the two records side by side: what each sells, where it is based, who owns and funds it, the customers it names and its recent news, each fact numbered to its source.

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  • DigiCert
  • Hornetsecurity
DigiCert vs Hornetsecurity: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
DigiCertDigiCert ONE is a platform that includes Trust Lifecycle Manager for organizations that require CA-agnostic certificate lifecycle management.digicert.comHornetsecurityHornetsecurity sells a suite of services for Microsoft 365 security, risk, governance, compliance and backup.hornetsecurity.com
What it sells
  • AI Trust Manager[1][8]Helps organizations discover, secure, and govern AI agents, AI models, and MCP servers.
  • CertCentral[1][3]Used to order and administer DigiCert certificates.
  • Private CA[1][7]DigiCert's Private CA solutions are pointed to strictly internal use cases.
  • DigiCert X9 PKI[7]A dedicated public key infrastructure for interoperability and flexibility for non-web browsers.
  • 365 Total Protection[3][4][7]A suite for Microsoft 365 security, risk, governance, compliance and backup.
  • 365 Total Backup[3][4][6]Automated Microsoft 365 data backup, recovery and protection.
  • Advanced Threat Protection[3][4][7][14]AI-powered protection of emails and data.
  • DMARC Manager[3][4][15]Safeguards domains against email impersonation, phishing and spoofing with DMARC, DKIM and SPF management.
Categories
Headquarters
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Founded
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Ownership and funding
Not stated on its pagesOwned by Proofpoint, Inc. since 2025[2]
Named customers
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Recent news
  • September 24, 2026DigiCert announced general availability of Quantum Central, a DigiCert ONE platform offering that helps organizations manage progress toward post-quantum cryptography readiness.[12]
Not stated on its pages
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
Who it fits
X9 PKI is aimed at host-to-host communications (mTLS) involving multiple organizations. DigiCert issues ZertES certificates for organizations and individuals that require legally recognized digital trust under Swiss law. Trust Lifecycle Manager is described for organizations that require CA-agnostic certificate lifecycle management. DigiCert AI Trust Manager is described for organizations that need to discover, secure, and govern AI agents, AI models, and MCP servers. CertCentral Europe is hosted in European data centers for customers with data residency and sovereignty requirements.Not written yet
Last verified
November 5, 2026November 4, 2026

Where they overlap

  • DigiCert and Hornetsecurity are both filed under Email authentication and DMARC.

Where they differ, field by field

  • DigiCert's primary category is Machine identity and PKI; Hornetsecurity's is Email security.
  • DigiCert is also filed under Post-quantum cryptography and DNS security. Hornetsecurity is also filed under Security awareness training and Backup and cyber recovery.
  • DigiCert lists AI Trust Manager, CertCentral, Private CA and DigiCert X9 PKI. Hornetsecurity lists 365 Total Protection, 365 Total Backup, Advanced Threat Protection and DMARC Manager.
  • Hornetsecurity is owned by Proofpoint, Inc., since 2025.

What it sells: DigiCert

What AI Trust Manager does[1][8]
DigiCert AI Trust Manager assigns each AI agent a cryptographically verifiable AI Agent Passport linked to its organizational and human ownership. DigiCert AI Trust Manager verifies AI model integrity from development through deployment and runtime. DigiCert AI Trust Manager protects AI agents, AI models, and MCP servers, as well as the systems, tools, and data they access.
What CertCentral does[1][3]
DigiCert certificates can be ordered and administered through CertCentral Europe. CertCentral Europe is hosted in European data centers to address data residency and sovereignty requirements. CertCentral Europe is part of the DigiCert ONE platform.
What DigiCert X9 PKI does[7]
DigiCert X9 PKI is a dedicated public key infrastructure designed to provide interoperability and flexibility for non-web browsers. DigiCert X9 PKI operations are governed by an ASC X9 Policy Committee and undergo an annual independent WebTrust audit. Organizations with existing PKI systems can cross-certify with the X9 PKI root. The X9 PKI is intended for non-browser TLS authentication scenarios.

What it sells: Hornetsecurity

What 365 Total Protection does[3][4][7]
365 Total Protection plans can be onboarded in Hybrid mode. Hornetsecurity offers one package that combines email security, backup, security awareness, access and permission control and domain fraud protection.
What 365 Total Backup does[3][4][6]
The backup and recovery solution covers mailboxes and In-Place Archive mailboxes, Teams, Planner, OneNote, Entra ID Users and Groups, OneDrive for Business accounts, and SharePoint document libraries. It includes unlimited backup storage and restoration and a 4-eye-approval process.
What Advanced Threat Protection does[3][4][7][14]
Hornetsecurity's Sandbox Engine scans email attachments for potential malware by running the file in a virtual, isolated test environment. Hornetsecurity's QR Code Analyzer detects QR codes embedded directly into an email or an image. Real Time Alerts notify an IT security team about acute attacks on the company in real time.
What DMARC Manager does[3][4][15]
DMARC Manager can capture all reports sent by recipient servers back to the sender and aggregate them into a single report. Hornetsecurity describes real-time data on email messages that fail DMARC checks.

Questions about DigiCert and Hornetsecurity

What do DigiCert and Hornetsecurity sell?
DigiCert sells AI Trust Manager, CertCentral, Private CA and DigiCert X9 PKI. Hornetsecurity sells 365 Total Protection, 365 Total Backup, Advanced Threat Protection and DMARC Manager.
Are DigiCert and Hornetsecurity in the same category?
They share Email authentication and DMARC. DigiCert's primary category is Machine identity and PKI and Hornetsecurity's is Email security.
Who owns DigiCert and Hornetsecurity?
Hornetsecurity is owned by Proofpoint, Inc., since 2025.
Who are DigiCert and Hornetsecurity sold to?
X9 PKI is aimed at host-to-host communications (mTLS) involving multiple organizations.
What have DigiCert and Hornetsecurity announced recently?
September 24, 2026: DigiCert announced general availability of Quantum Central, a DigiCert ONE platform offering that helps organizations manage progress toward post-quantum cryptography readiness.

About DigiCert

DigiCert ONE is a platform that includes Trust Lifecycle Manager for organizations that require CA-agnostic certificate lifecycle management. CertCentral Europe is part of the DigiCert ONE platform. DigiCert ONE is available to customers from global regions including European, Australia, India, Japan, and the United States.[3]

DigiCert certificates can be ordered and administered through CertCentral Europe, which is hosted in European data centers to address data residency and sovereignty requirements. DigiCert signs all SSL certificates using the SHA-256 Algorithm. DigiCert assigns an alphanumeric serial number to each SSL certificate it issues. DigiCert offers identity-validated S/MIME for encryption, signing, and phishing protection. DigiCert describes protecting code signing for software releases.[2][3][4]

Verified Mark Certificates (VMCs) from DigiCert enable organizations to display their registered trademark logo in supported email clients. The BIMI standard requires organizations to have a logo that is a registered trademark so that they can be issued a VMC. DigiCert validates an organization's legal existence and confirms its control over the domain associated with the VMC request using Extended Validation (EV) standards. For a VMC, DigiCert performs additional validation beyond the standard Extended Validation (EV) certificate process. DigiCert validates that the SVG logo complies with BIMI requirements and exactly matches the registered trademark. The individual requesting a VMC must be verified as an authorized representative of the organization. Once approved, DigiCert issues the Verified Mark Certificate.[5][6]

DigiCert X9 PKI is a dedicated public key infrastructure designed to provide interoperability and flexibility for non-web browsers. DigiCert X9 PKI operations are governed by an ASC X9 Policy Committee and undergo an annual independent WebTrust audit. X9 PKI was born from the financial services industry’s need for a dedicated, interoperable trust framework. The X9 PKI is intended for non-browser TLS authentication scenarios. Its main use case at the outset is mutual TLS (mTLS) among financial institutions and between them and their partners and customers. Organizations with existing PKI systems can cross-certify with the X9 PKI root. DTCC will require X9 PKI certificates for securing connections to IBM MQ, Connect:Direct, and FTPS.

DigiCert is a Qualified Trust Service Provider issuing digital certificates under EU and national trust frameworks, including eIDAS, PKIoverheid (Netherlands), and ZertES (Switzerland). DigiCert issues eIDAS qualified certificates, and the available certificate types include QWACs for PSD2, as well as qualified electronic signatures, seals, and timestamps. DigiCert issues PKIoverheid qualified certificates for personal organizations, professionals, and citizens. DigiCert issues ZertES certificates for organizations and individuals that require legally recognized digital trust under Swiss law. ZertES certificates support qualified and regulated electronic signatures, electronic seals, and qualified timestamps.[3]

DigiCert AI Trust Manager helps organizations discover, secure, and govern AI agents, AI models, and MCP servers. DigiCert AI Trust Manager assigns each AI agent a cryptographically verifiable AI Agent Passport linked to its organizational and human ownership. DigiCert AI Trust Manager verifies AI model integrity from development through deployment and runtime. DigiCert AI Trust Manager protects AI agents, AI models, and MCP servers, as well as the systems, tools, and data they access. DigiCert describes automating passport revocation to enable a real-time kill switch for agentic sessions.[8]

DigiCert says replacing cryptography across systems, software, and devices is a multi-year effort that requires planning, testing, and coordination. DigiCert describes inventorying certificates, keys, endpoints, and libraries across PKI and beyond. DigiCert describes standardizing certificate issuance across disparate certificate authorities. DigiCert offers PQC-ready solutions for digital signatures, PKI, and certificate lifecycle management. DigiCert is active in CA/B Forum, IETF, ETSI, and C2PA. For connected devices, DigiCert describes giving every device a verifiable identity from deployment to retirement. For workloads, DigiCert describes making each workload, API, and container prove its identity. For digital content, DigiCert describes verifying that all digital content is authentic and unaltered.[2][8][9][10][11]

DigiCert on the record

Sources

DigiCert full record

  1. [1]digicert.comDigiCert · digicert.com · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]TLS/SSL Certificate Authority | Leader in Digital Trust | DigiCertDigiCert · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Solutions for the European UnionDigiCert · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]What extensions and details are included in a SSL certificate?DigiCert · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]VMC | New validation stepsDigiCert · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]How to trademark your logo for VMCDigiCert · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]DigiCert X9 PKI | DigiCertDigiCert · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]AI Trust Manager | Cryptographic trust for AI | DigiCertDigiCert · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Post-Quantum Cryptography Solutions & PQC Readiness | DigiCertDigiCert · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Why DigiCert | Unified Digital Trust Leader | DigiCertDigiCert · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Trust Calendar: Public Trust & Compliance Changes | DigiCertDigiCert · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]DigiCert Quantum Central Now Available to Help Organizations Turn PQC Plans into ActionDigiCert · published September 24, 2026 · Tier A

Hornetsecurity full record

  1. [1]hornetsecurity.comHornetsecurity · hornetsecurity.com · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Proofpoint acquisition completed press releaseHornetsecurity · hornetsecurity.com · published December 8, 2025 · Tier A
  3. [3]hornetsecurity.comHornetsecurity · hornetsecurity.com · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Cybersecurity Services for Microsoft 365 | HornetsecurityHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Hornetsecurity – Next-Gen Microsoft 365 SecurityHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Backup Service Renewal | Hornetsecurity (formerly Altaro)Hornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]365 Total Protection | Next-Gen Microsoft 365 Security SuiteHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]365 Permission Manager for Microsoft 365 | HornetsecurityHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]AI Cyber Assistant by Hornetsecurity: Meet AI.MYHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]AI Recipient Validation: Prevent Misdirected Emails | HornetsecurityHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Advanced Threat Protection for Email | AI-powered Threat DefenseHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Spam Filter & Malware Protection | HornetsecurityHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Business Email Continuity Service | HornetsecurityHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Hosted Business Email | Hornet.emailHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  15. [15]DMARC Manager - Secure Your Domain with HornetsecurityHornetsecurity · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A

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