CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Egress vs Proofpoint

Egress, a KnowBe4 company, is a cloud email security provider that says it continuously assesses human risk and dynamically adapts policy controls, defending against advanced phishing attacks and outbound data breaches. Proofpoint sells security that covers data and AI as one system, with access that follows intent. CISO Tribune files both under Email security and Human risk management. 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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  • Egress
  • Proofpoint
Egress vs Proofpoint: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
EgressEgress, a KnowBe4 company, is a cloud email security provider that says it continuously assesses human risk and dynamically adapts policy controls, defending against advanced phishing attacks and outbound data breaches.egress.comProofpointProofpoint sells security that covers data and AI as one system, with access that follows intent.proofpoint.com
What it sells
  • Defend[4][6][7][8][9][13]Inbound email security that stops advanced phishing attacks.
  • Prevent[4][7][10][13]Stops accidental and malicious data loss.
  • Protect[4][7]Secure, certified end-to-end email encryption.
  • Workspace[4][7]Collaborate and share securely.
  • ITM / Endpoint DLP[19]Endpoint software whose main features are supported on Windows, Mac and Linux.
  • Proofpoint Threat Intelligence Services[21]A Proofpoint team that provides Threat Insights.
  • ET Intel[21]A subscription that gives full access to all insights.
  • ET Pro[21]A subscription that gives full access to all insights.
Categories
Headquarters
London, United Kingdom[3]Sunnyvale, United States[1]
Founded
2007[3]2002[1]
Ownership and funding
Owned by KnowBe4 since 2024[1][2][4][5][6]Owned by Thoma Bravo since 2021[3][12][14][15]
Named customers
Not stated on its pages
  • Xcel Energy[4]
  • Princeton University[5]
  • Columbia University[6]
  • Informatica[7]
  • California Department of Motor Vehicles[8]
Recent news
Not stated on its pages
  • October 15, 2026Proofpoint and Varonis announced a definitive agreement under which Proofpoint will acquire Varonis in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $6.3 billion.[16]
  • September 22, 2026Proofpoint announced the Agentic Collaboration Security system, combining an intent-based detection model with agentic capabilities for email, collaboration tools and the browser.[17]
  • September 22, 2026Proofpoint announced the Proofpoint Agentic Data and AI Security system, built to secure AI and data as one connected risk.[18]
  • September 3, 2026Proofpoint introduced the SOC Analyst Agent, an AI capability that helps security teams investigate threats across Proofpoint security data, built with OpenAI models.[9]
  • August 4, 2026Proofpoint launched an OEM program that lets technology providers, security vendors and managed service providers embed its threat intelligence and detection capabilities.[10]
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: listed, seen October 24, 2026[5]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: listed, seen November 10, 2026[14]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
Who it fits
From its own pages, the company sells to customers it says it prepares to defend against attacks and breaches before they happen. Defend is offered to those who need to stop advanced phishing attacks. Prevent is offered to those who need to stop accidental and malicious data loss. Protect is offered to those who need secure, certified end-to-end email encryption.From its own pages, Proofpoint addresses cyberattacks on organisations where people and AI agents work side by side across email, cloud and collaboration tools. The customers Proofpoint quotes include an organisation using Proofpoint for AI security for employees using AI services and tools, and for AI security in the tools and agents it is building. A quoted Proofpoint customer runs email security, DLP and insider threat management that work together, with its analyst using a single security console.
Last verified
November 2, 2026October 10, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Email security is the primary category of both Egress and Proofpoint; both are also filed under Human risk management.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Egress is also filed under Data loss prevention. Proofpoint is also filed under Collaboration app security and Insider risk management.
  • Egress lists Defend, Prevent, Protect and Workspace. Proofpoint lists ITM / Endpoint DLP, Proofpoint Threat Intelligence Services, ET Intel and ET Pro.
  • Egress is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Proofpoint is headquartered in Sunnyvale, United States.
  • Egress was founded in 2007. Proofpoint was founded in 2002.
  • Egress is owned by KnowBe4, since 2024. Proofpoint is owned by Thoma Bravo, since 2021.
  • Proofpoint publicly names Xcel Energy, Princeton University, Columbia University, Informatica and California Department of Motor Vehicles.

How they differ

CISO Tribune files Egress under Email security, Data loss prevention and Human risk management, with Email security as its primary category. CISO Tribune files Proofpoint under Email security, Collaboration app security, Human risk management and Insider risk management, again with Email security as primary. Egress sells Defend for inbound email security, Prevent against accidental and malicious data loss, Protect for end-to-end email encryption, and Workspace for sharing securely. Proofpoint sells ITM / Endpoint DLP, Proofpoint Threat Intelligence Services, and the ET Intel and ET Pro subscriptions. Proofpoint also describes security that covers data and AI as one system.

Egress is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, and was founded in 2007. It has been owned by KnowBe4 since 2024. KnowBe4 took a private path under Vista Equity Partners and raised $300 million in a round led by KKR. Proofpoint is headquartered in Sunnyvale, United States, and was founded in 2002. Thoma Bravo has owned it since 2021. Proofpoint publicly names Xcel Energy, Princeton University, Columbia University, Informatica and California Department of Motor Vehicles as customers.

On September 22, 2026, Proofpoint announced the Agentic Collaboration Security system for email, collaboration tools and the browser. On October 15, 2026, Proofpoint and Varonis announced a definitive agreement for Proofpoint to acquire Varonis in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $6.3 billion. Egress describes KnowBe4's Defend, Prevent and Protect as part of the KnowBe4 Cloud Email Security products managed through the Security Center.

What it sells: Egress

What Defend does[4][6][7][8][9][13]
Defend is KnowBe4's inbound email security solution. Defend uses AI and natural language processing to map historical communication patterns and identify anomalies. Defend rewrites links and checks them at time of click, and detects QR codes within email.
What Prevent does[4][7][10][13]
Prevent lets security administrators configure their risk appetite for data exfiltration. Prevent can block activity, warn users, or monitor user activity without end-user notification. Prevent analyzes attachments for sensitive content and verifies them against the intended recipients.
What Protect does[4][7]
Protect is secure, certified end-to-end email encryption. Protect is one of the KnowBe4 Cloud Email Security products covered by the Security Center.

What it sells: Proofpoint

What Proofpoint Threat Intelligence Services does[21]
Threat Insights are provided by the Proofpoint Threat Intelligence Services team. Premium Threat Intelligence Services analysts curate threat news highlights.
What ET Intel does[21]
Subscribing to ET Intel or ET Pro gives full access to all insights. Threat Insights are provided by the Proofpoint Threat Intelligence Services team.
What ET Pro does[21]
Subscribing to ET Intel or ET Pro gives full access to all insights. Threat Insights are provided by the Proofpoint Threat Intelligence Services team.

Questions about Egress and Proofpoint

What do Egress and Proofpoint sell?
Egress sells Defend, Prevent, Protect and Workspace. Proofpoint sells ITM / Endpoint DLP, Proofpoint Threat Intelligence Services, ET Intel and ET Pro.
Are Egress and Proofpoint in the same category?
Yes. Email security is the primary category of both on CISO Tribune.
Where are Egress and Proofpoint headquartered?
Egress is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Proofpoint is headquartered in Sunnyvale, United States.
When were Egress and Proofpoint founded?
Egress was founded in 2007. Proofpoint was founded in 2002.
Who owns Egress and Proofpoint?
Egress is owned by KnowBe4, since 2024. Proofpoint is owned by Thoma Bravo, since 2021.
Which customers do Egress and Proofpoint name?
Proofpoint publicly names Xcel Energy, Princeton University, Columbia University, Informatica and California Department of Motor Vehicles.
Who are Egress and Proofpoint sold to?
From its own pages, the company sells to customers it says it prepares to defend against attacks and breaches before they happen. From its own pages, Proofpoint addresses cyberattacks on organisations where people and AI agents work side by side across email, cloud and collaboration tools.
What have Egress and Proofpoint announced recently?
October 15, 2026: Proofpoint and Varonis announced a definitive agreement under which Proofpoint will acquire Varonis in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $6.3 billion.

About Egress

Egress, a KnowBe4 company, is a cloud email security provider that says it continuously assesses human risk and dynamically adapts policy controls, defending against advanced phishing attacks and outbound data breaches. Egress says it uses contextual machine learning and neural networks, with integration through a cloud-native API architecture. Egress says KnowBe4's acquisition of Egress created the largest AI-driven cybersecurity platform for managing human risk. KnowBe4 says it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Egress.

Defend is KnowBe4's inbound email security solution. Defend uses AI and natural language processing to map historical communication patterns and identify anomalies. Defend rewrites links and checks them at time of click, and Defend detects QR codes within email. Active and malicious code is automatically disabled from HTML message bodies and attachments. Sender policy verification lookup and validation are performed on every message for SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Defend filters graymail to a separate folder. Defend uses AI to automate inspection of user-reported phishing emails and remediate attacks across the enterprise.[7]

Defend performs time-of-click inspection to detect malicious URLs that are weaponized post-delivery. Phishing is one of the most common attack vectors for ransomware. Egress says 90% of ransomware starts with a phish and that Defend uses AI-powered analysis to stop malicious links and payloads.[8][9]

On the outbound side, security administrators can configure their risk appetite for data exfiltration and deploy KnowBe4 Prevent to block activity, warn users when they are about to contravene policy, or monitor user activity without end-user notification. Prevent uses AI technology to analyze recipients for signals that an address may be a personal account linked to the sender. Prevent analyzes attachments for sensitive content and verifies them against the intended recipients. Administrators can control and report on exfiltration incidents through an approve/reject workflow. Protect is secure, certified end-to-end email encryption, and Workspace is a way to collaborate and share securely. The Security Center is a single portal for risk analysis, reporting and incident triage, investigation and response for the KnowBe4 Cloud Email Security products Defend, Prevent and Protect, including a live threat feed.[7][10]

Defend integrates into Google Workspace and MS Outlook apps on Windows Desktop, Mac, iOS and Android. Defend operates after a SEG, Google or Microsoft 365 has performed analysis. KnowBe4 Cloud Email Security is integrated into Microsoft 365, including support for Mac and OWA users.[7][11]

KnowBe4 says attackers increasingly target attorneys and support staff, who have access to valuable client information. KnowBe4 also addresses financial services organizations, with email and human error as the focus. A customer quoted by KnowBe4 selected Defend and Prevent as added security layers in its Microsoft 365 environment.[12][13]

The KnowBe4 Platform provides attack simulation and training, email and collaboration security, and agent security powered by AIDA (Artificial Intelligence Defense Agents) and a proprietary Risk Score. KnowBe4 says more than 70,000 organizations worldwide trust it. KnowBe4, Inc gives its address as 33 N Garden Ave, Suite 1200, Clearwater, FL 33755. Vista Equity Partners took KnowBe4 private, and KnowBe4 raised $300 million in a round led by KKR.[7]

KnowBe4 states that all of its products are SSAE18 SOC 2 Type 2 certified and Cyber Essentials certified. KnowBe4 has been audited against the International Organization for Standardization 27001:2022 standard covering information security controls and the 42001:2023 standard covering AI management systems. KnowBe4 maintains compliance with the GDPR. KnowBe4 uses AWS and Azure for data encryption in transit (TLS) and at rest (AES-GCM 256).[12][14]

Egress on the record

Sources

Egress full record

  1. [1]Knowbe4 to acquire egressKnowBe4 · knowbe4.com · published April 24, 2024 · Tier A
  2. [2]Knowbe4 completes acquisition of egressKnowBe4 · knowbe4.com · published July 9, 2024 · Tier A
  3. [3]Egress software technologies granted patent for secure data exchangeDark Reading · darkreading.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier B
  4. [4]Egress, a KnowBe4 Company | Anti-Phishing, Data Loss Prevention & EncryptionEgress, a KnowBe4 Company · undated page, accessed October 24, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Egress Solutions Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & Features | G2G2 · undated page, accessed October 24, 2026 · Tier C
  6. [6]About Us | KnowBe4KnowBe4 · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Defend datasheetKnowBe4 · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Stop Account Takeover with Defend | KnowBe4KnowBe4 · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Stop Ransomware with Defend | KnowBe4KnowBe4 · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Stop Data Exfiltration with Prevent | KnowBe4KnowBe4 · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Advanced graymail detection with Defend | KnowBe4KnowBe4 · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Secure Your Legal Practice: Humans & AI Agents | KnowBe4KnowBe4 · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Financial Services Security Awareness Training | KnowBe4KnowBe4 · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Security Statement | Legal | KnowBe4KnowBe4 · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A

Proofpoint full record

  1. [1]AboutProofpoint · proofpoint.com · published April 21, 2025 · Tier A
  2. [2]ProductsProofpoint · proofpoint.com · published September 24, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Thoma bravo completes acquisition of proofpointThoma Bravo · thomabravo.com · published August 31, 2021 · Tier A
  4. [4]Xcel energyProofpoint · proofpoint.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Princeton university safe with proofpoint email securityProofpoint · proofpoint.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Columbia universityProofpoint · proofpoint.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]InformaticaProofpoint · proofpoint.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]California department motor vehiclesProofpoint · proofpoint.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Proofpoint soc analyst agent openai daybreakProofpoint · proofpoint.com · published September 3, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Proofpoint launches oem program help security providers embed trusted threatProofpoint · proofpoint.com · published August 4, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Proofpoint launches dedicated msp business unit and introduces 365 totalProofpoint · proofpoint.com · published May 13, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Enterprise Cybersecurity Solutions, Services & Training | Proofpoint USProofpoint · undated page, accessed October 27, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Integrating ITM On-Prem (ObserveIT) with a Service Desk SystemProofpoint · undated page, accessed October 27, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Proofpoint Core Email Protection Reviews & Product Details - G2G2 · undated page, accessed October 27, 2026 · Tier C
  15. [15]Proofpoint Acquires Acuvity to Deliver AI Security and Governance Across the Agentic WorkspaceProofpoint · published February 12, 2026 · Tier A
  16. [16]Proofpoint to Acquire Varonis in a $6.3 Billion TransactionProofpoint · published October 15, 2026 · Tier A
  17. [17]Proofpoint Stops the Attacks Traditional Defenses Miss in the AI EraProofpoint · published September 22, 2026 · Tier A
  18. [18]Proofpoint Breaks Down the Divide Between Data Security and AI Security with the Industry’s First Unified Agentic SystemProofpoint · published September 22, 2026 · Tier A
  19. [19]ITM / Endpoint DLP Windows / Mac / Linux SupportProofpoint · published November 9, 2026 · Tier A
  20. [20]Assigning SQL Permissions to the Service Account UserProofpoint · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  21. [21]Proofpoint: Emerging Threats IntelligenceProofpoint · published November 9, 2026 · Tier A

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