Certgate: Maximum Security for your Business

IT security is very relevant in today’s world, increasingly so when it comes to IT mobile communication technologies. certgate is one of Germany’s best known companies which are on the up. Based in Nuremberg, the company is also a part of the “IT Security Made in Germany” alliance. We recently spoke with certgate’s CEO Jan Wendenburg to get to know more about the future roadmap of the company. Here are the excerpts from the interview.

Tell us about your company.

certgate is one of the leading German-based security solution providers, focused on mobile security products and solutions. certgate was founded in 2004 and we have now offices in Düsseldorf, Hannover, and Nuremberg (near Munich).

certgate is owned and supported by one of the largest private equity companies in Germany. Our clients are global, large and medium enterprises as well as governmental or public authorities that include most of the German Federal Ministries, the German parliament and many other federal organizations.

How impactful is cloud and big data on a company’s IT infrastructure and its security today?

Cloud infrastructures are already a global standard for most companies. Within cloud infrastructures, the “old” physical perimeter security concept of dedicated data centers, connection and terminals is not valid anymore. Hence, security must be implemented by design, directly into the cloud infrastructure, platform and applications. Additionally, increased compliance requirements, i.e., GDPR is enforcing effective access control and encryption everywhere.

Do you think security is considered a business enabler, or is there still a tendency to view it as a business inhibitor?

CEO’s & CIO’s mindset are slowly changing. They are starting to acknowledge that IT security could be a business enabler – if implemented effectively. In 2019, multiple large and substantial data leaks damaged corporate values of Marriot, Equifax, Facebook, First America Financial, Burger King, American Medical Collection Association, Capital One, Movie Pass, UK Metropolitan Police, Adobe, TrendMicro and many others. Consider this, for the first time, German government sentenced German mobile provider 1&1 Telecom to pay a fee of 9.5 Million Euros for violation of GDPR regulations.

Could you tell us about the security services provided by certgate.

Our offering is twofold and follows the stringent German security regulations. First, we enable organizations to go mobile securely by making smart cards wireless and mobile. We provide unique, secure wireless smart card readers.

Our AirID product family enables any organization to expand proven desktop 2-factor security into their preferred mobile platforms. AirID has been approved by German Federal Institute for IT Security for governmental classified use. It integrates with global mobile device management solutions. Second, we provide highly customized, individual and secure corporate mobile communication solutions for End2End encrypted voice, chat and email. Our solutions protect data at flexible security levels, from software to hardware protected 2-factor authentication and encryption.

How is your company distinct from others in the market?

IT security is a matter of trust and the core fundament of all our client and partner relationships. We include our clients and partners in the product roadmap plan discussions to receive feedback on current products and future concepts. We believe active communication and transparent support processes help to build and increase trust with our clients and partners. Most clients prefer using our products, even when presented in direct competition with others.

Our success is based on a restless, paranoid approach to combine maximum security with minimum user impact. We are working very intensively with our partners and clients, no matter what platform, geography or language.

certgate’s products comply with the trustworthy seal “IT Security Made in Germany” and we have been a long-term IT security innovator and our patented and unique mobile security products and solutions provide maximum security at minimum user impact.

Where do you see your company in the forthcoming years?

In IT security there are a few major trends that are important to watch: going mobile, simple user interfaces, and consumerization. IT security should have no user impact but artificial intelligence automation will put almost any software-based security concept at high risk.

We at certgate provide key products to enable large organizations to secure mobile workplaces effectively with minimum user impact, consumer-oriented user interfaces and hardware based “AI-resistant” protection.

certgate has already secured several substantial large and global customer agreements within automotive, industrial, healthcare and governmental sectors to ensure its growth for the next few years. In 2019, we entered the U.S. market through local, well experienced partners. We intend to establish ourselves in future as an international leading IT security specialist for world-class, certified security products and solutions.

Leader Extraordinaire

He started his career at IBM. He went on to restructure an international IT distributor, co-founded an international venture capital firm and also found an international IT security company. He has been in the IT and security industry for many years. He has served multiple international companies which had offices in Germany, the Americas and Asia. Currently, he is responsible for the expansion of certgate’s operations. He is also known to support Fintech startups.

He has authored various IT security and compliance publications including “Digital Signatures in Practice”, “BankingClub” and “Compliance is key – believe it or die!”

“Our success is based on a restless, paranoid approach to combine maximum security with minimum user impact.”

“Trusted by global enterprises and national government”