Companies discover Security Awareness Training as an effective tool to mitigate phishing and social engineering threats, propelling Knowbe4’s explosive growth
(Tampa Bay, FL) October 7, 2015 -- KnowBe4 says it is seeing a shift in IT security strategy as recognition of effective methods such as security awareness training become a necessary part of data breach prevention. Data breaches remain a major issue for organizations, with over 175 million records exposed in 2015 so far. According to a new study released by Enterprise Management Associates,there has been a “tremendous shift” with 59% of employees receiving a form of security awareness training in 2015 compared to only 44% in 2014.
KnowBe4 continues to see explosive triple digit growth for the 9th quarter in a row, with Q3 2015 toppling the 400 percent mark over Q3 2014. New customers have nearly doubled in a few short months and customer retention is at an all time high, with less than 1% churn per month. With over 2,000 enterprise accounts using it to train their employees against phishing and social engineering, KnowBe4 is the world’s most popular integrated Security Awareness Training and Simulated Phishing platform.
“The old methods of locking down systems so people cannot cause a problem doesn’t work for IT these days as it only feeds “shadow IT” and encourages employees to create their own solutions”, said Stu Sjouwerman, CEO of KnowBe4. “We focus on ease of use for IT admins and helping them create a security culture that assists their employees to be on their toes with security top of mind both at work and at home”.
Personal information has been the focus for many recent hacking incidents such as three high-profile data breaches that hit the news last week, compromising personal and sensitive details of millions of people; telecom giant T-Mobile, crowdfunding website Patreon, and US brokerage firm Scottrade.
Sjouwerman further advises, “Literally everyone needs to be on the lookout for spear phishing attacks and ID Theft. Effective security awareness training with integrated phishing tests can help IT manage this threat, creating a strong “human firewall”.
KnowBe4 practices what it preaches. When a cyber hacker tried to spear-phish the company in late September, KnowBe4’s own training kicked in and Controller Alanna Cormier was able to recognize this as an attempt to scam a hefty chunk of money in what the FBI’s IC3 refers to as a “Business Email Compromise”, averting tens of thousands of dollars in potentially lost funds.
“Attackers are furiously innovating and developing more sophisticated tools or ingenious social engineering methods to get at your organization’s crown jewels. End-user education is an essential ingredient of your defense-in-depth” said Sjouwerman.
For more information, visit www.KnowBe4.com
About Stu Sjouwerman and KnowBe4
Stu Sjouwerman (pronounced “shower-man”) is the founder and CEO of KnowBe4, LLC, which hosts the world’s most popular integrated Security Awareness Training and Simulated Phishing platform. A data security expert with more than 30 years in the IT industry, Sjouwerman was the co-founder of Inc. 500 company Sunbelt Software, a multiple award-winning anti-malware software company that was acquired 2010. Realizing that the human element of security was being seriously neglected, Sjouwerman decided to help organizations manage the problem of cybercrime social engineering tactics through new school security awareness training. KnowBe4 services 1500 organizations in a variety of industries, including highly-regulated fields such as healthcare, finance, energy, government and insurance and is experiencing explosive yearly growth of 300%. Sjouwerman is the author of four books, with his latest being “Cyberheist: The Biggest Financial Threat Facing American Businesses.”
About Kevin Mitnick
Kevin Mitnick, ‘the World’s Most Famous Hacker’, is an internationally recognized computer security expert with extensive experience in exposing the vulnerabilities of complex operating systems and telecom devices. He gained notoriety as a highly skilled hacker who penetrated some of the most resilient computer systems ever developed. Today, Mitnick is renowned as an information security consultant and keynote speaker and has authored four books, including The New York Times best seller Ghost in the Wires. His latest endeavor is a collaboration with KnowBe4, LLC as its Chief Hacking Officer.
