Virtru is a data security company that encrypts email, files and application data and keeps control of that data after it has been shared. It serves public sector bodies and private companies that exchange sensitive information with partners, customers and other agencies.
The problem it addresses is what happens after sharing. Once a message or document has left the sender, most security controls stop applying, and Virtru is built so that the owner keeps a say over who can read it.
At A Glance
| Vendor | Virtru |
|---|---|
| Category | Data centric security, encryption and access control |
| Identities covered | Human users, identity attributes and customer held encryption keys |
| Deployment | SaaS, or on-premises and virtual private cloud |
| Certifications | Virtru Collaborate is FedRAMP authorised; compliance support for CJIS, CMMC, FERPA, GDPR, HIPAA, ISO 27001 and ITAR |
| Founded | 2012, Washington, DC |
What Virtru Does
Once sensitive data leaves an organisation, network and application controls no longer apply to it. Virtru’s answer is data centric protection: each email or file carries its own policy, so the owner can decide who opens it and can revoke that access later. TDF is the format that makes this work, binding granular policy and access controls to the information that is shared.
All Virtru products draw on the same policy, key and audit services. That means a rule set for a document in Google Drive behaves the same way as one for an email in Outlook or a record passing through Salesforce.
Products
Virtru For Gmail And Virtru For Outlook
For organisations that need to send sensitive information by email, these add-ins encrypt messages and attachments inside Google Workspace and Microsoft Outlook using AES-256 encryption, without asking users to switch tools.
Virtru Secure Share
Secure Share handles cloud file sharing for documents too sensitive for ordinary links. Files are encrypted and the sender sets flexible access controls on who can open them.
Virtru Collaborate
Collaborate is the first product built on the new Virtru Platform. It provides encrypted, FedRAMP authorised and PCI compliant workspaces that teams can create on demand for sensitive projects. Access policy is bound to each file, so removing someone from a workspace also removes their ability to decrypt its contents. APIs, SDKs and MCP integrations let developers and AI agents work in a workspace under the same attribute based controls as people.
Virtru Private Keystore And Google Client Side Encryption
Some organisations must hold their own encryption keys rather than leave them with a cloud provider. Private Keystore gives them private key management, including support for Google Client Side Encryption (CSE).
Virtru Data Protection Gateway
The gateway protects sensitive data as it moves through SaaS applications such as Zendesk and Salesforce, applying encryption before the data reaches the application.
Virtru Data Security Platform And OpenTDF
The platform exposes a public API and SDKs so that teams can build TDF protection into bespoke applications. OpenTDF is the open source project and open standard behind the format, available on GitHub.
How It Works
Customers choose between a fully managed SaaS platform and an on-premises or virtual private cloud deployment. TDF acts as the metadata standard that the platform reads to decide who may access a protected object. The architecture has these components.
| Component | What it does |
|---|---|
| Policy Management | Defines and manages granular access control policies. |
| Policy Enforcement | Applies those policies dynamically at the moment of access. |
| Key Management | Controls access to encryption keys using attribute based access control (ABAC). |
| Entitlements Management | Connects to external identity sources and defines identity based policy. |
| Identity and data attribute mapping | Normalises identity metadata and data attributes from external sources. |
| Data Auditing | Shows who accessed data and how it was used. |
Identities And Systems Covered
| Human users | Email senders and recipients, file sharers and workspace collaborators |
|---|---|
| Identity sources | Active Directory, Okta and Ping Identity feed identity attributes into policy |
| Attribute based access | Normalised identity attributes decide who can obtain the keys to protected data |
| AI agents | Agents that connect to Virtru Collaborate through MCP |
| Encryption keys | Customer held keys through Private Keystore and Google CSE |
| Protected systems | Gmail, Outlook, Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, Zendesk, Salesforce, Confluence, Windows and data lakes |
Integrations
| Area | Integrations |
|---|---|
| Data security tools | Titus, Cyera, Rubrik |
| Cross domain | Everfox |
Company Background
| Founded | November 2012, to advance the TDF standard. |
|---|---|
| Founders | John Ackerly and Will Ackerly; Will Ackerly invented TDF. |
| Headquarters | Washington, DC. |
| Customers | More than 6,000 reported organisations across the public and private sectors. |
| Funding | $6 million (2014) and a $29 million Series A (2016), both led by Bessemer Venture Partners; a $37.5 million Series B (2018) led by ICONIQ Capital; $60 million growth financing co-led by ICONIQ Growth (2022); and $50 million led by ICONIQ (July 2025), with Bessemer Venture Partners, Foundry and The Chertoff Group. |
| Recognition | Cybersecurity Breakthrough Award in the encryption category (2023) and two Google Cloud Partner of the Year awards for education and government (2024). |
Note: This overview is compiled from Virtru’s publicly available information as of 3 November 2026. It is provided for information only. NHI Mgmt Group does not endorse any vendor, and nothing on this page represents the opinions of NHI Mgmt Group.