Stu Sjouwerman

Chief Executive Officer & President

Stu Sjouwerman (pronounced “shower-man”) is the founder and CEO of KnowBe4, Inc., which hosts the world’s most popular integrated security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, with over 54,000 organization customers and more than 50 million users. A serial entrepreneur and data security expert with 30 years in the IT industry, Stu was the co-founder of Inc. 500 company Sunbelt Software, a multiple award-winning anti-malware software company that was acquired in 2010.

Books

Cyberheist E-Book

Find all of Stu's books on Amazon

Lazarus Group Continues Targeting Defense Contractors

Jul 7, 2021 8:57:49 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

North Korea’s Lazarus Group has been launching phishing campaigns against more defense contractors and engineering companies, according to researchers at AT&T Alien Labs. The ...

87% Increase in Social Engineering Scams During the First Quarter of 2021 Compared to Q1 2020

Jul 7, 2021 8:41:47 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

There was an 87% increase in social engineering scams during the first quarter of 2021 compared to Q1 2020, according to Ayelet Biger-Levin from BioCatch. In an article for The Paypers, ...

Your The Majority of Business Email Compromise Phishing Attacks Initially Go for Credentials, Not Money

Jul 6, 2021 4:23:15 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

With BEC attacks historically trying to get to the “committing fraud” part as quickly as possible, new data shows threat actors are taking their time, looking for a larger payoff.

It Was Only a Matter of Time: The Ransomware Ecosystem Has Given Birth to VC Investors

Jul 6, 2021 4:12:45 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

Security firm LIFARS confirms that cybercriminals are acting like venture capital investors, funding startup cybercriminal organizations, such as Darkside Ransomware.

CyberheistNews Vol 11 #26 [Eye Opener] Almost All LinkedIn User’s Data Has Been Scraped and Is up for Sale on the Dark Web

Jul 6, 2021 9:44:01 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

WhatsApp Phishing Scams Significantly Increase

Jul 6, 2021 9:18:16 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

The Southwark Police in London have warned of a spike in WhatsApp phishing scams, according to Paul Ducklin at Naked Security. The station tweeted, “We have seen a surge in WhatsApp ...

HMRC-Branded Phishing Attacks Targeting U.K. Users Saw an 87% Increase During COVID

Jul 6, 2021 9:18:13 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Phishing scams impersonating the UK’s tax, payments and customs authority related to tax rebates or refunds have soared, according to new data obtained by a Freedom of Information (FoI) ...

Two-Thirds of Organizations Have Experienced Spear Phishing Attacks in 2021

Jul 6, 2021 9:18:09 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Spear phishing is on the rise in both frequency and effectiveness, making it an even greater threat to organizations who let their defenses down – even a little.

Important Kaseya Notice! Turn VSA Off. Now. Ransomware. Updated

Jul 3, 2021 9:46:30 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Saturday morning July 3: They were hit with a REvil ransomware attack it looks like. Friday July 2 at 11pm they said:

[BREAKING] NSA, Partners Release Cybersecurity Advisory on Brute Force Global Cyber Campaign

Jul 1, 2021 12:15:33 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

NSA and its US and British partners (the UK's NCSC and the US FBI and CISA) late this morning released an advisory detailing a Russian campaign ("almost certainly ongoing") to brute-force ...

New IcedID and QBot Phishing Campaigns Are Running Amuck

Jul 1, 2021 10:48:05 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Researchers at Kaspersky recently spotted two widespread phishing campaigns delivering the IcedID and QBot banking Trojans. The majority of users targeted by the IcedID campaign were ...

Almost All LinkedIn User’s Data Has Been Scraped and is Up for Sale on the Dark Web

Jun 30, 2021 4:31:12 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

700 Million LinkedIn user’s personal details were posted for sale earlier this month, putting 92% of their userbase at risk of social engineering and spear phishing attacks.

Spear Phishing Impersonation Attacks Take on New Tactics to Become More Convincing and Effective

Jun 30, 2021 4:31:09 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

As part of Business Email Compromise attacks, spear phishing now plays a material role, with impersonation sitting firmly at the core of their social engineering tactics… in more ways ...

Yet Another Disk Image File Format Spotted in the Wild Used to Deliver Malware

Jun 29, 2021 2:00:41 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

Disguised as an invoice, cybercriminals use a Windows-supported disk image to obfuscate malware from email gateways and security scanners. The question is how viable will it be?

35% of Cybersecurity Incidents are Business Email Compromise (BEC) Phishing Attacks

Jun 29, 2021 2:00:38 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

With cybercriminals looking for the fastest means to get from attack to a big payout, BEC attacks are shifting tactics to adjust to organizations being better prepared.

[Eye Opener] The Biggest Bitcoin Heist Ever: A Whopping 3.6 Billion Dollars!

Jun 29, 2021 10:28:11 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

I'm not sure why this is not all over the press. Bloomberg picked up on this though. A pair of South African brothers have vanished, along with Bitcoin worth $3.6 billion from their ...

CyberheistNews Vol 11 #25 [Heads Up] Attackers Abuse Your Google Docs With a New Phishing Angle

Jun 29, 2021 9:40:45 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

New Phishing Attack Adds a Call Center Step to Get You to Download Malware

Jun 29, 2021 9:37:55 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Unlike traditional phishing emails that simply attach or link to a malicious file, a new scam from cybercriminal group BazaCall makes victims call in and be instructed to download the ...

Cybersecurity and Business Priorities Don’t Appear to Be Aligning – and That’s Bad for Your Security Stance

Jun 29, 2021 9:37:51 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Despite organizational leadership believing cyber security initiatives can support business goals, the way businesses approach cybersecurity seems to prove otherwise.

An Unusual Attachment is Most Likely a Phishing Campaign

Jun 29, 2021 9:37:48 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

A phishing campaign is using Windows Imaging Format (WIM) files to deliver malware, according to researchers at Trustwave. WIM files aren’t commonly thought of as potentially malicious, ...

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