KnowBe4 Secures $30 Million Investment in Series B Funding Round

Anti-phishing solution provider KnowBe4 has secured $30 million of growth capital in its latest series B funding round, bringing its total financing up to $44 million. The latest round of funding was led by a new investor – Goldman Sachs Growth Equity. The additional capital will primarily be used to fuel growth in international markets, with some funds used for product development.

The new investment comes after impressive third quarter sales, which were 2.63 times higher than the previous quarter. Q3, 2017 was the 18th consecutive quarter of continued growth for the Clearwater, Florida-based firm. The continued growth is due to high demand for anti-phishing solutions that improve the security awareness of employees.

Phishing is now the number one threat to organizations; an attack method that allows cybercriminals to bypass organizations’ technological security defenses by targeting employees. By training employees to be more security aware and teaching them to recognize phishing threats, organizations can create what KnowBe4 calls “a human firewall.”

KnowBe4 has developed an anti-phishing platform that includes a swathe of educational resources for training, along with a phishing simulation platform that allows organizations to test their employees to gauge the effectiveness of their training efforts and find out which employees require further training.

The phishing emails for the simulations have been developed by Kevin Mitnick – a renowned hacker who is now using his phishing skills to help organizations protect against cyberthreats.

Anti-phishing training and phishing simulations are now an essential part of an organization’s cybersecurity program. While it used to be sufficient to conduct an annual cybersecurity training program/refresher course for employees, the constantly changing threat landscape means organizations now need to continuously train employees. As new threats emerge, employees need to be taught how to recognize the signs of an attack.

The continued growth of phishing as an attack vector and high demand for anti-phishing solution providers makes investment in the firm a safe bet. Goldman Sachs led this funding round, with Elephant, an existing investor, also participating. “Our financing will support the company’s continuing growth as they expand globally and develop new products to serve this fast-growing market,” said Hans Sherman, Vice President in Goldman Sachs’ Merchant Banking Division.

“The funding comes at an important time for us as we are expanding globally. Last week we announced our European growth plans and are looking forward to future international expansion,” said KnowBe4 Founder and CEO, Stu Sjouwerman.

Author: Richard Anderson

Richard Anderson is the Editor-in-Chief of NetSec.news