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

Phishing Attacks Have Increased by 22% This Year

Aug 19, 2021 8:34:15 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

The volume of phishing attacks has increased 22% this year compared to the first half of 2020, according to researchers at PhishLabs.

Defending Against Ransomware Attacks Should Start (and Can End) With Security Awareness Training

Aug 18, 2021 2:00:43 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

The world’s most dangerous, expensive, and impactful cyberattack can potentially be stopped with little more than a conscientious user who is paying attention.

Can the Microsoft 365 Platform Be Trusted to Stop Security Breaches?

Aug 18, 2021 2:00:29 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

Lax security policies, a lack of security measures and solutions in place, and an expectation that Microsoft will address any security issues is putting organizations at risk.

Deepfakes Continue to be a Concern as the Technology Improves and Becomes More Convincing

Aug 18, 2021 2:00:15 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

In the wake of the FBI’s warning about more deepfake-based cyber attacks coming in the next year, organizations should remain vigilant against this compelling form of social engineering.

Trend Micro: Most Organizations in the World Will Likely Be Compromised in the Next 12 Months

Aug 18, 2021 10:19:22 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

A new report from security vendor Trend Micro quantifies the current level of risk most organizations are facing, highlighting how ill-prepared we really are, how many have already been ...

Cyber Attacks Grow 125% as Ransomware Tops the List Plaguing Enterprise Organizations

Aug 18, 2021 10:17:02 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

With no slowdown of cyberattacks in sight, global incident volumes continue to trend upward, according to new data from Accenture’s Cyber Investigations, Forensics and Response team.

The Average Ransom Demand of $5.3M in 2021 is Up 518% From Last Year

Aug 18, 2021 10:16:08 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Cybercriminals appear to be more aggressive with their idealistic ransom demands as some gangs continue to evolve, using new “quadruple extortion” tactics to ensure payment.

Copyright Scammers Now Making Phone Calls

Aug 18, 2021 10:15:47 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Copyright infringement scammers have begun using phone calls to contact potential victims, according to Paul Ducklin at Naked Security.

Attackers Use Morse Code to Encode Phishing Attachments

Aug 17, 2021 9:56:28 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

A phishing campaign is using morse code to encode malicious attachments in order to slip past security filters, according to researchers at Microsoft. The phishing emails contain HTML ...

KnowBe4’s Automated Security Awareness Program Builder Now Available in Nine Languages

Aug 17, 2021 9:26:20 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Now that the KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training and Simulated Phishing Platform is available in nine localized languages, starting your organization's security awareness training program ...

CyberheistNews Vol 11 #32 [Heads Up] The Cyber Insurance Industry Is Wrongly Hedging Its Bets On MFA

Aug 17, 2021 9:20:05 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

The Anatomy of Smishing Attacks and How to Avoid Them

Aug 16, 2021 8:56:01 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Cybercriminals and nation-state actors continue to launch smishing attacks to steal credentials and distribute malware, according to Michael Marriott, Senior Strategy and Research Analyst ...

Military Personnel Vulnerable to Fraud

Aug 13, 2021 10:55:52 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

US military personnel and veterans have lost more than $822 million to scams since 2017, according to researchers at AtlasVPN. The researchers analyzed data from the US Federal Trade ...

Words of Advice for Organizations on Cybersecurity Best Practices

Aug 13, 2021 9:27:56 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

We recently attended Black Hat USA 2021 this year and Erich Kron, Security Awareness Advocate for KnowBe4, sat down with Cybersecurity Ventures to give words of advice for all ...

What’s in a (Ransomware Gang) Name? (A Gang by Any Other Name is Just as Dangerous)

Aug 12, 2021 8:21:46 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

The shutting down or even retirement of one ransomware gang seems to result in another popping up. Are these new gangs or just reincarnations of the old one with a new face?

Is Being a Ransomware Affiliate Profitable? The Math Says it is!

Aug 12, 2021 8:21:29 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

While plenty of industry data and new stories confirm ransomware gangs are raking in tens-to-hundreds of thousands per successful attack, is the business of ransomware profitable?

Android Trojan Goes After Facebook Accounts

Aug 11, 2021 9:11:53 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

A new Android Trojan has hijacked more than 10,000 Facebook accounts by stealing session cookies, according to researchers at Zimperium. The malware uses social engineering to trick users ...

Spear Phishing Becomes a Bigger Problem as the Average Organization is Targeted 700 Times a Year

Aug 11, 2021 8:21:16 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

With threat actors honing their trickery skills to craft the perfect email used to fool a would-be victim recipient, new data shows cybercriminals are stepping up their game on a number ...

DarkSide Ransomware Returns as BlackMatter After Sudden Shutdown of Operations

Aug 11, 2021 8:20:59 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Probably the world’s most notorious ransomware gang disappears completely and subsequently reappears with new branding in an attempt to separate themselves from the types of attacks that ...

Cyber Insurance Rates Climb 30% as Ransomware Attacks, Costs, and Payments are All on the Rise

Aug 11, 2021 8:20:31 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

In a case of “I told you so”, it seems that cyber insurance costs have risen this year as organizations fail to properly protect themselves from rampant ransomware attacks.

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