A private equity giant has invested an additional $300 million in cybersecurity awareness firm KnowBe4 only three months after announcing its initial investment of $50 million, according to Fortune.
At the helm of the company, which provides integrated security awareness training and a simulated phishing platform, are Stu Sjouwerman, CEO, and Kevin Mitnick, chief hacking officer. Founded in 2010, the company now boasts more than 25,000 users across the globe from highly regulated industries to global organizations.
“The company helps organizations address the human element of security by raising awareness of ransomware, CEO fraud and other social engineering tactics through a new-school approach to security awareness training,” the June 12 press release said.
“Having secured additional funding, as well as 'unicorn' status as a private company valued at $1 billion, KnowBe4 now plans to continue an ambitious international expansion that, in 2019 alone, has seen it acquire two cybersecurity companies located in different parts of the globe: Brazil-based El Pescador and Norway-based CLTRe,” Fortune reported.
In response to the company earning unicorn status, KnowBe4 CEO Stu Sjouwerman lauded the relationship the company has built with its investment firm, KKR. Sjouwerman’s blog post emphasized his plentiful gratitude:
I'd like to thank you for your trust in us, and for telling your friends about our platform. This is only the beginning of building a strong human firewall and we still need all the help we can get.
So from the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much. We will continue doing our level best to help you keep your organization safe, and please keep spreading the word.
“Organizations are beginning to understand that when it comes to security, building a human firewall takes precedence over merely deploying technology,” Sjouwerman told Infosecurity. “This investment is a representation of what we're seeing in the market, which is more emphasis placed on the area of security awareness training and education as a key way to manage the ongoing problem of social engineering.”