Datacard Group
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Digital security, Identity management, Payment technologies |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Headquarters | Shakopee, Minnesota , United States |
| Products | Software and hardware products for financial card issuance, electronic passport manufacturing, secure network authentication, website trust certificates, mobile identity verification, connected device security |
Number of employees | 2500+ |
Entrust Corp., previously known as Entrust Datacard, delivers comprehensive software and hardware products for financial card issuance, electronic passport manufacturing, secure network authentication, website trust certificates, mobile identity verification, and connected device security. This privately owned enterprise is based in Shakopee, Minnesota and has a workforce exceeding 2,500 employees worldwide.
Entrust Inc
Established in 1994, Entrust pioneered the first publicly available public key infrastructure (PKI). In 1997, Entrust was spun off from Nortel as part of a tax-related restructuring. By 1999, Entrust entered the public SSL market through a collaboration with Thawte, launching Entrust.net.
In May 2000, Entrust expanded its capabilities by acquiring enCommerce, a company specializing in authentication and authorization solutions. By April 2002, Entrust’s PKI technology served as the foundation for the prototype of the United States Federal Bridge Certification Authority, facilitating secure communication among government agencies.
In mid-2004, Entrust obtained AmikaNow! Corporation’s content scanning and compliance technology, which automates email and document inspection using contextual analysis rather than relying on keyword detection.
June 2006 marked Entrust’s acquisition of Orion Security Solutions, a provider of PKI services. The subsequent month saw the purchase of Business Signatures Corporation for roughly $55 million (including associated costs and stock options). Founded in 2001 by former Oracle, HP, and Cisco executives and supported by investors such as Texas Pacific Group and Ram Shriram, Business Signatures specialized in unobtrusive fraud detection technologies.
Entrust joined the Russell 3000 Index in July 2008. A year earlier, in July 2007, it contributed certificate revocation list distribution point technology to Sun Microsystems and the Mozilla Foundation under a royalty-free agreement to bolster open-source security frameworks.
In July 2009, private equity firm Thoma Bravo acquired Entrust for $124 million.
Datacard Group
Datacard Group traces its origins to 1969 when Willis K. Drake founded Data Card Addressograph. Initially producing credit card imprinters, the company evolved to develop high-throughput card issuance systems capable of securely personalizing up to 1,500 cards per hour. This advancement significantly enhanced both speed and accuracy in card production for financial institutions and retailers.
In 2000, Datacard Group broadened its smart card expertise by acquiring Platform Seven (P7), formerly the smart card technology unit of National Westminster Bank.
A key area within Datacard’s offerings centers on instant issuance systems for credit, debit, and prepaid cards. These solutions enable banks, retailers, and credit unions to produce cards immediately at branches or retail locations—often used for emergency replacements following loss, theft, or security incidents. Instant issuance solutions serve as a complement to centralized mass issuance operations within card programs.
The company further expanded its identity and credentialing portfolio in 2013 by acquiring Entrust Inc., strengthening its position in secure identity management solutions.
Entrust Datacard
In 2014, Datacard Group underwent a rebranding to become Entrust Datacard. By June 2019, it expanded its portfolio through the acquisition of a general-purpose Hardware Security Module supplier from Thales Group.
Entrust Corp
On September 14, 2020, the organization transitioned its brand identity from Entrust Datacard to simply Entrust, simultaneously updating its corporate name to Entrust Corporation. This rebranding highlighted a strategic commitment to secure identity solutions, payment technologies, and data protection services.
In January 2021, Entrust further broadened its offerings by acquiring HyTrust, a company specializing in data encryption for virtualized and multi-cloud environments, along with key management and cloud security posture tools.
Entrust provides digital security and credential issuance platforms tailored for border control, payment systems, e-government access, and enterprise network authentication. Its growth strategy includes several acquisitions:
- , a vendor of hardware security modules (June 2019)
- HyTrust, focused on securing data and cloud infrastructures (January 2021)
- WorldReach Software, experts in digital transformation for immigration and border management processes (April 2021)
- Onfido, an AI-based identity verification firm aimed at preventing identity fraud (April 2024)
In January 2025, Sectigo announced the purchase of Entrust’s public certificate business, with financial details remaining confidential.
In July 2025, Tony Ball, a veteran leader within the company, was elevated to CEO, taking over from Todd Wilkenson.
Distrust
In June 2024, Google revealed plans to remove Entrust as a trusted Certificate Authority in its Chrome browser due to persistent compliance concerns. As a result, Entrust’s PKI certificates will lose trust status in Chrome starting October 2024. Following this, in July 2024, Mozilla announced it would also delist Entrust as a trusted Certificate Authority in Firefox, impacting all certificates issued after November 30, 2024.