Proofpoint named Leader in Gartner 2025 email security

Proofpoint has been named a Leader in Gartner's 2025 Magic Quadrant for Email Security, marking its second consecutive year in the top category.

The research firm evaluated 14 vendors for the latest report. It assessed them on what it calls Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision.

Proofpoint said Gartner placed it highest on Ability to Execute among the vendors in the Leaders segment.

The company previously featured in the Magic Quadrant for Secure Email Gateways. That report last appeared in 2015. Proofpoint held a Leader position in that assessment for seven consecutive editions.

Gartner's Magic Quadrant series is a widely followed comparison of technology suppliers in specific markets. It ranks vendors as Leaders, Challengers, Visionaries or Niche Players.

Tom Corn, Group Vice President and General Manager of Collaboration Security at Proofpoint, said the recognition reflected the firm's current strategy in email protection.

"We're honored to once again be recognized by Gartner as a Leader in Email Security," said Tom Corn, group vice president and general manager of Collaboration Security at Proofpoint. "We've redefined what email security means for the modern enterprise, uniting deep threat intelligence, adaptive controls, and human insight to stop attacks before they become compromises. We believe this recognition reflects our relentless focus on protecting people wherever and however they work and our commitment to delivering the most advanced, integrated defense against today's most sophisticated threats."

The designation comes against a backdrop of heightened concern among senior security executives. Proofpoint's 2025 Voice of the CISO report found that 76% of chief information security officers expect their organisation to face a material cyber attack within the next year, despite 67% rating their cybersecurity culture as strong.

The same study reported that 37% of CISOs see email fraud as their fastest rising concern. The findings point to ongoing pressure on email systems and collaboration platforms in many organisations.

Email threats

Proofpoint said it now addresses a wide range of attack types. These include email fraud, account takeover, QR code phishing and threats that target AI assistants.

The company also said its service now covers communication channels beyond email. It cited Teams, Slack, SharePoint and OneDrive as examples of integrated collaboration tools under protection.

Proofpoint stated that more than 2.7 million organisations use its products worldwide. It said its systems block 99.99% of email attacks before those reach users.

The firm offers deployment either through an application programming interface or a gateway. It said its threat detection integrates with Microsoft and Google email environments. The products sit alongside native security in those suites.

Proofpoint said it focuses on detection accuracy, analyst efficiency and a product roadmap that addresses newer forms of attack. The company framed this as part of its response to what it described as a rapidly shifting threat landscape.

Product updates

Over the past year, Proofpoint has expanded its technical integrations and consolidated several tools. The changes link its core email service with a wider set of workspace security functions.

The company highlighted its Core Email Protection API. This product offers a way to deploy and manage email security through direct integration. Customers can start with an API-driven model.

Proofpoint said organisations that begin with the API can later switch to pre-delivery protection. That option shifts inspection earlier in the email delivery flow.

It also promoted its Messaging and Collaboration Protection offering. This product examines links that appear across different communication channels.

Proofpoint said the system checks URLs delivered through LinkedIn messages, personal Gmail tabs, Slack chats and QR codes on mobile devices. It then blocks access to links it identifies as malicious.

The firm contrasted this with tools that connect through individual apps. It said its approach covers clicks across multiple channels without requiring users to change their working patterns.

Another recent addition is Threat Protection Workbench. This service presents threat data and actions in a single console. The intention is to streamline how security teams investigate and respond to incidents.

The company said an AI Threat Summarisation feature now produces automated threat descriptions. The tool reduces the time analysts spend writing manual summaries.

It added that the console supports direct investigation of user-reported emails. It offers screenshot and message body access inside the same environment.

Wider ecosystem

Proofpoint has also extended links with other security and IT platforms. The company said it has deepened integrations with Microsoft Sentinel, Crowdstrike and Palo Alto Networks, among others.

The firm also pointed to user feedback data from Gartner Peer Insights. As of late November, it held an overall rating of 4.6 out of 5 in the Email Security Platforms category. The score came from 1,507 published reviews.

Proofpoint said it plans further innovation across email, cloud and collaboration security. The company said it aims to cover how people, data and AI agents interact across those environments.