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KnowBe4 Ends 2011 With a Roar: Winner Announced in Motorcycle Giveaway for Phishing Security Test Registrants

KnowBe4 Draws Winner From More Than 3,300 Phishing Security Test Registrants; Harley-Davidson Fat Boy® Lo Motorcycle Awarded to Kevin Batsch

CLEARWATER, Fla., December 27, 2011 – To encourage businesses to sign up for its free phishing security test, Internet Security Awareness Training (ISAT) firm KnowBe4 invited registrants to enter a drawing for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. In total, more than 3,300 entries were received; and a winner was drawn earlier this month.

KnowBe4 offers its free phishing security test to help organizations determine the percentage of employees that are Phish-prone™, or susceptible to cybercriminals’ phishing tactics. In a case study of three KnowBe4 clients, the phishing security test revealed that between 26% and 45% of employees were likely to click on links in a simulated phishing email. Upon implementing Internet security awareness training, the companies achieved a collective 75% reduction in their Phish-prone percentage after the first training session. Following a month of subsequent testing and retraining, all three companies reported a Phish-prone percentage at or near zero.

“Small and medium enterprises, or SMEs, are increasingly being targeted by cybercriminals. Yet many remain unaware of the security threat posed by their own employees, who are often the unwitting victims of phishing scams,” explained KnowBe4 founder and CEO Stu Sjouwerman (pronounced “shower-man”). “We knew that our phishing security test would prove to be a valuable tool for SMEs; we just needed an attention-getting and impactful way to get the word out – and the motorcycle giveaway certainly accomplished that.”

KnowBe4 unveiled the Harley-Davidson FatBoy® Lo in May at Microsoft^® TechEd North America 2011 in Atlanta. TechEd is Microsoft’s premier technology conference for IT professionals and developers, featuring technical education and a preview of new products from Microsoft and its partners. The motorcycle was displayed prominently in the KnowBe4 booth during the conference, and visitors were invited to enter the drawing by signing up for a phishing security test. At the end of the four-day event, more than 2,500 entries had been received.

To extend the giveaway to a broader audience, KnowBe4 also accepted entries from those who signed up for the phishing security test online. More than 800 participants registered online, bringing the total number of entries to more than 3,300.

Sjouwerman conducted a random drawing at the beginning of December, and Kevin Batsch of Fort Lauderdale was named the winner. Batsch, who works as a messaging architect for a leading provider of virtual computing solutions, was among those who entered at TechEd. Sjouwerman and his team personally delivered the Harley-Davidson motorcycle to Batsch’s home on December 15.

Batsch expressed his gratitude for the prize, and praised KnowBe4’s efforts to increase Internet security awareness. “User security and cybercrime training is difficult, but if you had some great training and testing materials to assist in this vulnerability, then your company would be a step ahead,” noted Batsch. “If you can train users and make them security-aware … and prepare them to not get caught in the phishing net, that would be a great advantage. Since email is often how users get attacked with social engineering, and KnowBe4 can help reduce this, that is just awesome!”

While the giveaway period has ended, the free phishing security test is still available to all who sign up at http://www.knowbe4.com/phishing-security-test. For more information on KnowBe4’s Internet Security Awareness Training (ISAT) programs – and to access other complimentary resources, including a free email exposure check (EEC) – visit http://www.knowbe4.com.

About Stu Sjouwerman and KnowBe4

Stu Sjouwerman is the founder and CEO of KnowBe4, LLC, which provides web-based Internet Security Awareness Training (ISAT) to small and medium enterprises. A data security expert with more than 30 years in the IT industry, Sjouwerman was the co-founder of Sunbelt Software, an award-winning anti-malware software company that he and his partner sold to GFI Software in 2010. Realizing that the human element of security was being seriously neglected, Sjouwerman decided to help entrepreneurs tackle cybercrime tactics through advanced Internet security awareness training. He and his colleagues work with companies in many different industries, including highly regulated field such as healthcare, finance and insurance. Sjouwerman is the author of four books; his latest is Cyberheist: The Biggest Financial Threat Facing American Businesses Since the Meltdown of 2008.

* Fowler, Geoffrey A. “What’s a Company’s Biggest Security Risk? You.” The Wall Street Journal (Online); September 26, 2011.