We’re not just a different kind of security company. We’re a security company that, together with you, makes a difference.
Stu Sjouwerman
Founder and CEO of KnowBe4
Our History
History
Sunbelt Software is acquired by GFI Software, a portfolio company of the Insight Partners Venture Fund.
Stu Sjouwerman, Co-founder of Sunbelt Software, starts KnowBe4, LLC and begins the development of Internet Security Awareness Training (ISAT) Version 1. Experience in Sunbelt Software showed that the end-user is the weak link in IT Security, and cybercrime bypassed antivirus with social engineering.
KnowBe4 first releases its weekly newsletter: CyberheistNews.
ISAT V1 is released and is well received. With the release, KnowBe4 introduces the free Phishing Security Test. Hundreds of organizations do the PST.
KnowBe4 releases a new cybercrime statistic that identifies the nation’s most Phish-prone industry sectors, with a simulated phishing attack on the Inc. 500. The study is called the FAIL500.
Analyzing the PST statistics shows that on average, 20% of people in organizations will click on phishing links.
Kevin Mitnick joins KnowBe4 as Chief Hacking Officer and part owner.
KnowBe4 introduces the free Email Exposure Check, which shows the phishing attack footprint of any organization.
KnowBe4 expands its services and offers Vulnerability Scanning to clients.
Introduction of “Kevin Mitnick Security Awareness Training,” which is Version 2 of ISAT. Kevin Mitnick is officially announced as KnowBe4’s Chief Hacking Officer.
Kevin Mitnick Security Awareness Training is now used in over 200 enterprise sites. An additional module becomes available: “PCI Compliance Simplified."
342% Growth
KnowBe4 announces that year-over-year growth from 2011–2012 is 342%.
CyberheistNews is now the world’s largest e-zine for IT pros about social engineering and security awareness training with 140,000 subscribers.
“Kevin Mitnick Home Internet Security Course” is introduced as part of a bundle with VIPRE Antivirus, and is sold on Home Shopping Network as the Feb 2, 2013 "Today Special," with sales of 26,000 units on the first day.
One of the Big Four accounting companies chooses KnowBe4 for its security awareness training program worldwide.
Osterman Research releases a survey that shows KnowBe4’s process for security awareness training is significantly more effective than other traditional approaches.
Kevin Mitnick Security Awareness Training 2014 is announced. It now comes in two flavors, the normal 40-minute version and a new 15-minute version for managers that specifically addresses Advanced Persistent Threats.
Additional separate training modules are announced: “Handling Sensitive Information Securely” and “Mobile Device Security."
Kevin Mitnick Security Awareness Training is now used in well over 400 enterprise sites. Major upgrade of back-end console V2.0 released, including custom templates and landing pages.
427% Growth
KnowBe4 announces that year-over-year growth from 2012–2013 is 427%. Here is the breakout by Industry.
After 18 months of development, we release KnowBe4 Compliance Manager.
We show that our training program truly works great. We release visible proof in the form of our 12 months of customer results.
KnowBe4 announces its new Crypto-Ransom Guarantee and sales skyrocket. Also, new features are added:
- Simulated attachments; Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Zip, also zipped versions of these files.
- Customizable “hover-links” that show when a user hovers their mouse over a link.
KnowBe4 is named in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Security Awareness Computer-Based Training.
KnowBe4 announces refreshed training modules: Kevin Mitnick Security Awareness Training 2015, Mobile Security 2015, and PCI DSS Version 3.0.
KnowBe4 Q4 2014 is 397% over the fourth quarter 2013, which in turn was 260% from the fourth quarter 2012.
KnowBe4 releases V4.0 of the Management Console. Two powerful new features are the “anti-prairie dog” option, which sends random phishing templates at random times during business hours over a 24–120-hour time period, and Community Templates, where customers can share successful phishing templates with their peers.
KnowBe4 is now the world’s most popular integrated Security Awareness Training and Simulated Phishing platform. Well over 1,000 enterprise accounts are using it, 25% of which are banks and credit unions.
KnowBe4 Q1 2015 is 354% over the first quarter 2014. Moving to a new 15,000-square-foot office space allows expansion to 100 employees.
KnowBe4 sees security awareness training go from lunchroom to boardroom, and has seen explosive growth for eight consecutive quarters. Q2 revenue for 2015 is 353% over Q2 2014.
We also release Version 5.0, which adds the much-requested Training Campaigns functionality.
KnowBe4 Grand Opening with a ribbon cutting by Clearwater Mayor George Cretekos.
KnowBe4 Q3 2015 is 400% over Q3 2014, reaching 2,000 enterprise accounts and more than 50 full-time employees.
KnowBe4 Q4 2015 is 358% over the fourth quarter of 2014, reaching 2,500+ enterprise accounts and more than 70 full-time employees.
We also release the new, free Phish Alert add-in for Microsoft Outlook that any system admin can download and deploy to their users for a one-click report of possibly dangerous emails.
KnowBe4 also receives an $8 million venture capital investment from Elephant Partners and changes from an LLC into an Inc.
For the first time, KnowBe4 has a booth at RSA in San Francisco, and Kevin Mitnick is there for his popular card-exchange, where attendees get his stainless steel lockpick business card.
KnowBe4 has a blowout Q1, growing 299% year-over-year, and makes it into the Cybersecurity 500, the definitive list of the world’s hottest and most innovative companies in the cybersecurity industry. We’re also ranked #1 in Tampa Bay's Best Places To Work.
KnowBe4 has a stellar Q2, growing 454% year-over-year, and expects to make it in the Inc. 5000 list. Check out the blog post with more highlights and milestones.
KnowBe4 makes it in the Inc. 500 at #139, a very strong debut on this famous list.
KnowBe4 makes it in the Florida Fast 100 at #2 (ranked by percent growth 2013–2015).
We release a key feature for Enterprise: Active Directory integration, which fully automates user management and saves administrators significant amounts of time.
KnowBe4 also goes into Beta with AIDA™ (Artificial Intelligence Driven Agent™), which combines phishing, vishing, and smishing into a new attack vector coined as "aishing."
KnowBe4 beats its stellar Q2, growing 369% year-over-year in Q3, and now has 6,000+ enterprise accounts. KnowBe4 also makes it in Deloitte's Technology Fast 500.
KnowBe4 has another blow-out Q4, with a year-over-year sales increase of 298% for Q4 2016.
With a record number of over 750 new corporate accounts in December alone and a very robust 88% customer retention rate, our client list grows to over 8,000 enterprise accounts.
Perry Carpenter, former Research Director, Security & Risk Management, and esteemed analyst at Gartner, joins KnowBe4 as Chief Evangelist and Strategy Officer.
KnowBe4 reports a record Q1 2017 performance, with overall year-over-year sales growth of 261%. This marks the 16th straight quarter of growth, driven by a continually increasing demand for our new-school approach to security awareness training.
KnowBe4 also makes the #1 slot for 2017 in Tampa Bay's Best Place To Work for midsize companies.
Kevin Mitnick and KnowBe4 Stu Sjouwerman do the Cyber Investing Summit Keynote at The NYSE, showing how easy it is to clone a prox card, send someone a phishing attack with a malicious PDF and more.
KnowBe4 moves from #38 to #6 on the Cybersecurity 500, the list of the world's hottest security companies. We also welcome employee #300.
Q2 of 2017 is well over double that of Q2 2016, marking our 17th straight quarter of growth. June is an all-time high month and, for the first time ever, we add more than 1,000 new customers in one month.
KnowBe4 establishes our UK subsidiary: KnowBe4 UK, LTD. We also make it in the Inc. 500 for the second year in a row.
KnowBe4's record Q3 2017 is our 18th-straight quarter of growth, with a 263% year-over-year sales increase.
We close a $30 million Series B investment led by Goldman Sachs. In the same week, Gartner positions KnowBe4 as a Leader in the Magic Quadrant for Security Awareness Computer-Based Training. We also acquire a company in our space, Securable.io.
KnowBe4 wins the Frost & Sullivan Cyber Security Awareness Training Platform Customer Value Leadership Award and reaches its first $7 million month.
KnowBe4's record Q4 2017 is our 19th straight quarter of growth, with a year-over-year sales increase of 255%, bringing customer accounts to well over 15,000.
We secure the #70 spot in Fastest-Growing Companies in North America on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 for 2017, and the #5 spot in Florida’s 100 Fastest-Growing Companies.
With another record quarter, KnowBe4 acquires Popcorn Training and opens a new office for our EMEA headquarters in the Netherlands. CBInsights names KnowBe4 the best-funded cybersecurity startup in Florida.
KnowBe4 is awarded Best Place To Work by Tampa Business Journal and breaks 700 positive reviews at Gartner's Peer Reviews, more than all MQ leaders section competitors combined.
KnowBe4 doubles year-over-year sales for Q2 2018, for 21 straight quarters of growth. June shows highest-ever numbers in sales per day, week, month and quarter. Customer accounts are now 19,000+.
We acquire exploqii in Berlin, expanding our footprint in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We also achieve the #2 spot on the Cybersecurity Ventures 500 list and the #60 spot on Fortune's 100 Best Workplaces for Millennials.
KnowBe4 appears on the Inc. 500 list for the third time in a row.
KnowBe4 again almost doubles year-over-year sales in Q3 2018, for 22 straight quarters of growth.
Knowbe4 hires seasoned finance and tech executive Krish Venkataraman as CFO to support our rapid growth strategy. We also release a massive upgrade of our platform, which now includes AI and Machine Learning to deliver game-changing new Advanced Reporting, as well as the Virtual Risk Officer functionality.
KnowBe4 is ranked #2 on the list of Largest Software Developers in Tampa Bay by Tampa Bay Business Journal. We are also awarded the #2 spot for Small and Medium Companies on Great Place to Work’s Best Workplaces for Women 2018 list.
KnowBe4 announces over 60% year-over-year growth for Q4 2018, and now has 647 employees and 23,000 customers worldwide. This is the 23rd straight quarter of growth.
KnowBe4 is named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Security Awareness Computer-Based Training, and introduces a new product called PhishER that allows SOC teams to prioritize reported suspect emails.
KnowBe4 receives a sizable minority investment from leading global investment firm KKR that values us at more than $800 million and acquires El Pescador, a leading security awareness training company in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
SC Awards 2019 names KnowBe4 CEO Stu Sjouwerman a Top Executive Leader of the Last 30 Years. KnowBe4 also wins Cyber Defense Magazine awards for Editor’s Choice Anti-Phishing and Next Gen Security Training.
KnowBe4's Q1 year-over-year sales grow 70% over 2018. Here is the blog post with the full update. KnowBe4 is chosen as a top workplace for the fourth time in a row by the Tampa Bay Times, and for the third consecutive year by the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
KnowBe4 raises $300 million in a round led by KKR, which values Knowbe4 at a $1 billion "unicorn" level. Stu is named a Glassdoor Top CEO for 2019.
IDG’s Computerworld announces KnowBe4 as a 2019 Best Place to Work in IT. KnowBe4 is also awarded Network Computing Awards UK Security Training and Consultancy Provider of the Year.
KnowBe4 announces 50% year-over-year growth in Q2, takes the #2 spot in the Tampa Fast 50 and ranks #16 in the Florida Top 100 Best Companies List.
KnowBe4 is included in the Inc. 500 for the fourth time. We are also named the Best Workplace for Women by Great Place to Work and FORTUNE.
Renowned Gartner Analyst Joanna G. Huisman joins KnowBe4, and we acquire Twist and Shout Group to expand Live Action Video production.
In Q3 of 2019, KnowBe4 achieves 55% growth over Q3 2018, increasing customer accounts to well over 28,000.
KnowBe4 ranks #7 out of 50 on Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work US SMB List, with an overall company rating of 4.8.
Q1 2020 is 40% over Q1 2019. KnowBe4 is named a Leader in a new Forrester Wave™ report, and we welcome cybersecurity marketing leader Kara Wilson to our Board of Directors. IMAGE: Kara Wilson
We enable all 884 KnowBe4 employees to work from home in just one day, and set up a new coronavirus and work-from-home resource center.
Despite COVID-19 challenges, Q2 2020 is 25% over Q2 2019.
June 2020 is a month of achievements, including the highest sales per day, highest sales per month, highest PhishER sales, second-best quarter, and amazing international sales.
We also receive the following awards:
- Gold NYX Award in the E-learning category
- Silver Telly Award for “The Inside Man” security awareness training series
- Two 2020 EdTech Awards for Leadership and Cool Tools
KnowBe4 makes it in the Inc. 500 for the 5th time in a row, and celebrates 10 years and 1,000 employees by planting 10,000 trees worldwide.
G2 Ranks KnowBe4 the #1 Security Awareness Training Platform for the 5th consecutive quarter in their Fall 2020 G2 Grid Report for Security Awareness Training.
Vista Equity Partners takes KnowBe4 private.
