The strongest defense against email impersonation, for the people who need it most
Sponsor S/MIME validates both who you are and who you work for, embedding your verified personal name and your organization’s name into every digital signature. The maximum trust level for executives, senior management, and key personnel whose communications are the highest-value targets for impersonation attacks.
Configure & Buy Sponsor S/MIME
1. Select duration
Verified individual identity and organizational affiliation, signed into every email
Sponsor S/MIME (formerly known as IV + OV S/MIME) is the highest validation level in SSL.com’s S/MIME range. It combines individual identity validation (IV) with organization validation (OV), embedding both your verified personal name and your organization’s verified name into every digital signature.
This dual validation makes Sponsor S/MIME uniquely powerful against sophisticated impersonation attacks. A CEO fraud attempt or business email compromise attack that targets an executive’s email can be immediately identified as fraudulent by recipients who verify the digital signature, because the genuine article will carry both the individual’s name and the organization’s name, both verified by SSL.com.
The “Sponsor” designation reflects the nature of the certificate: the organization sponsors the issuance of a certificate for a named individual, validating their identity and their affiliation in a single credential.
Why executives and key personnel use Sponsor S/MIME
Sponsor S/MIME is the right choice for…
- ✓ C-suite executives: CEO, CFO, COO, CTO, CISO: whose email identity is the highest-value impersonation target
- ✓ Senior and middle management: department heads, directors, VPs: whose approval emails trigger significant actions
- ✓ Key personnel: anyone whose email communications carry authority and whose identity spoofing could cause financial or reputational harm
- ✓ Board members and trustees communicating on organizational business
- ✓ Legal and compliance officers signing binding communications
- ✓ Regulated industry professionals in financial services, healthcare, or legal sectors where dual identity validation meets compliance requirements
From purchase to dual-validated email: 5 steps
Works with the email clients you already use
| Email client | Signing | Encryption | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Outlook | ✓ | ✓ | Native S/MIME support: no plugin required |
| Apple Mail | ✓ | ✓ | Native support on macOS and iOS |
| Mozilla Thunderbird | ✓ | ✓ | Native support |
| Google Workspace Gmail | ✓ | ✓ | Requires Google Workspace Business or Enterprise plan |
| Outlook on the Web | ✓ | ✓ | Supported in Microsoft 365 environments |
Issued by an audited, compliant CA
CA/B Forum S/MIME Baseline Requirements
Sponsor S/MIME issued under the CA/B Forum S/MIME BR: the global standard for S/MIME certificate issuance
WebTrust for S/MIME BR (BDO)
SSL.com is audited annually by BDO under the WebTrust for S/MIME Baseline Requirements program
Dual identity validation
Both individual name (government-issued ID) and organizational affiliation (business registration) verified prior to issuance
