Security Awareness Training Blog

Keeping You Informed. Keeping You Aware.
Stay on top of the latest in security including social engineering, ransomware and phishing attacks.

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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

Recent Posts

Seven Kinds of Malware, and all Arrive by Social Engineering

Jan 3, 2020 9:25:59 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Naked Security outlines seven different categories of malware and describes how each of them through social engineering techniques can affect your organization. Some or all of these ...

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Global Climate Change Phishbait

Jan 3, 2020 8:54:43 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

A number of phishing campaigns have been using Christmas-themed emails encouraging recipients to support climate activist Greta Thunberg, according to Paul Ducklin at Naked Security. ...

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Wawa Data Breach Class Action Filed

Jan 3, 2020 8:48:38 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

There was a massive data breach suffered by Wawa, a convenience store chain of more than 850 stores around the country. Wawa had recently disclosed that it had suffered a data breach that ...

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75% of European Enterprises Cite a Lack of Awareness Training a Challenge to Establish a Proper Cybersecurity Stance

Jan 3, 2020 7:00:00 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

The latest data from VMware and Forbes Insights shows organizations across EMEA are deficient in a number of fundamental cybersecurity needs.

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More Fake Windows 10 Updates Spell Hefty Ransoms for Victims

Jan 3, 2020 7:00:00 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

With Windows 7 ending support this month, organizations moving to or already on Windows 10 need to be wary of “update” phishing scams intent on installing ransomware.

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New Report Shows the Success of Business Email Compromise Come from a Calculated Attack Approach

Jan 3, 2020 7:00:00 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

The newest data from security vendor Barracuda provides insight into exactly how attackers execute BEC attacks and what makes them so successful.

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[Heads-up] Sextortion Crime Gang Now Uses New Tactics To Bypass Your Spam Filters

Jan 3, 2020 7:00:00 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

In a business environment, employees use Google Translate on a regular basis to get access to documents they need to work with, or websites that are in another language.

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Cities and Governments are the Latest Target in a New “Leakware” Attack

Jan 3, 2020 7:00:00 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

This new type of attack focuses on threatening to steal and publish data on the web, asking for a ransom to be paid to keep the attackers from doing so.

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Online Credential Scam Becomes a Phone Port Attack and then Turns into a Sextortion Scam

Jan 3, 2020 7:00:00 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

If experiencing a single cyberattack isn’t enough, this complex attack that shifted mid-stream demonstrates how attackers take advantage of victim details as an attack unfolds.

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FBI Warns U.S. Companies About Maze Ransomware

Jan 2, 2020 4:13:36 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

The FBI is warning U.S. companies about a series of recent ransomware attacks in which the perpetrator, sometimes posing as a government agency, steals data and then encrypts it to ...

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KnowBe4 Has A Blow-Out 2019 Fourth Quarter

Jan 2, 2020 12:34:58 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

In the fourth quarter of 2019, KnowBe4 reached 54% growth over Q4 2018, increasing customer accounts to well over 30,000.

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CyberheistNews Vol 10 #1 [Heads-Up] Ransomware Attack Forces Arkansas CEO to Fire 300 Employees Days Before Christmas

Jan 2, 2020 9:54:16 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

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Phishing Remains the Most Widespread Risk

Jan 2, 2020 8:27:21 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

As organizations look to improving their defenses, it’s worth remembering that attackers usually get through those defenses by manipulating the human beings those security measures are in ...

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4 patients sue Alabama health system after ransomware attack

Dec 31, 2019 1:15:50 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

BeckerHospitalReview just posted a new wrinkle in the battle against ransomware: "Four patients filed a class action lawsuit against Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based DCH Health System, alleging ...

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Tax Season Warning: the IRS on Social Engineering

Dec 31, 2019 8:25:18 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

We have had occasion to warn of this before, but as 2020 begins and April 15th approaches, it may be worth another mention. The US Internal Revenue Service wants taxpayers to keep a sharp ...

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2020 Cybersecurity Predictions by KnowBe4’s Experts

Dec 30, 2019 5:51:08 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

With data breaches hitting headlines daily, IT pros are constantly concerned about the next big threat. Whether it’s ransomware, phishing, or completely new attack vectors, there’s always ...

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December 2019 Updates to our Data Protection Notices

Dec 30, 2019 5:17:50 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

In support of upcoming changes to data privacy laws we are making a few updates to our privacy policy. We have added language to help provide our customers clarity on KnowBe4’s ...

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Major Dutch University Still Fighting Ransomware Downtime; Expert Says Russian Hacker Group Responsible

Dec 30, 2019 10:53:39 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Major Dutch Maastricht University was still trying to recover from a crippling cyber attack nearly a week after the university's computer systems were infected by ransomware. New ...

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Phishing in a Port

Dec 30, 2019 10:49:03 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Among the ransomware that caused so much disruption in the latter half of 2019 was the strain known as Ryuk, and Ryuk has typically been spread by phishing. According to ZDNet, a recent ...

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[LEGAL ALERT] What You May Have Overlooked in the Run Up to CCPA Compliance

Dec 27, 2019 12:04:30 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

LAW.COM had a very good reminder that you really need to keep in mind. Here is an extract: "With just days to go before the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) compliance date, some ...

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