No Result
View All Result
SUBSCRIBE | NO FEES, NO PAYWALLS
MANAGE MY SUBSCRIPTION
NEWSLETTER
Corporate Compliance Insights
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • CCI Magazine
    • Writing for CCI
    • Career Connection
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Library
    • Download Whitepapers & Reports
    • Download eBooks
    • New: Living Your Best Compliance Life by Mary Shirley
    • New: Ethics and Compliance for Humans by Adam Balfour
    • 2021: Raise Your Game, Not Your Voice by Lentini-Walker & Tschida
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
    • Great Women in Compliance
    • Unless: The Podcast (Hemma Lomax)
  • Research
  • Webinars
  • Events
  • Subscribe
Jump to a Section
  • At the Office
    • Ethics
    • HR Compliance
    • Leadership & Career
    • Well-Being at Work
  • Compliance & Risk
    • Compliance
    • FCPA
    • Fraud
    • Risk
  • Finserv & Audit
    • Financial Services
    • Internal Audit
  • Governance
    • ESG
    • Getting Governance Right
  • Infosec
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
  • Opinion
    • Adam Balfour
    • Jim DeLoach
    • Mary Shirley
    • Yan Tougas
No Result
View All Result
Corporate Compliance Insights
Home GRC Vendor News

KnowBe4 Issues Alert: Social Engineering Threats Soaring

by Corporate Compliance Insights
December 5, 2014
in GRC Vendor News
KnowBe4 Issues Alert: Social Engineering Threats Soaring

KnowBe4 says “watch out” for cybercriminals looking to make some extra cash during scam season – it’s a social engineering bonanza with threats on multiple fronts.

Tampa Bay, FL (Dec 3, 2014) — KnowBe4 issued an alert today warning of a recent spate of high profile social engineering attempts targeted at prominent businesses. One such attack includes high profile financial advisors, officers and deal makers, thought to be an attempt to gain a Wall Street edge. The FBI also alerted private sector companies that targeting of their networks is a significant threat as reported by Reuters late Monday. Not to be left out, small businesses and consumers are being targeted with fake IRS agents looking for a little extra dough for the holidays, along with an uptick in phishing emails posing as Costco, Home Depot and a variety of shipping sources.

Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4 CEO said, “Hackers will use as many avenues to break in as they can dream up, but social engineering is one of the favored. We are hitting the season when online shipping is at a peak and employees become much more complacent. It is important to keep users alert and aware of how much a target they are, especially during scam season.” Furthermore, Sjouwerman warns, “I cannot think of a more urgent reason to step all employees through effective security awareness training to keep them on their toes, with security top of mind.”

Similar to a magazine’s editorial calendar, hackers have a “scam calendar” that focuses on events and opportunities to take maximum advantage of unsuspecting users or lax employees. These malware campaigns don’t discriminate between home or office and use social engineering to trick users. Millions of such phishing emails are sent each day and just one user in a hurry clicking on something might take down a system or a company.

Sjouwerman offers this advice:

“1) Be on the lookout for “Shipping Problem” emails from from FedEx, UPS or the U.S. Mail, where the email claims they tried to deliver a package from a specific company (for instance, Apple), but could not deliver due to an incomplete address. ‘Please click on the link to correct the address and you will get your package.’ If you do, your computer is likely to get infected with malware. Warn everyone in the family, especially teenagers.

2) Watch out for alerts via text to your smartphone that ‘confirms delivery’ from FedEx, UPS or the U.S. Mail and then asks you for some personal information. Don’t enter anything. Think before you click!

3) Reiterating a warning KnowBe4 sent out a few weeks ago, there is a fake refund scam going on that could come from a big retailer. It claims there was a ‘wrong transaction’ and wants you to ‘click for refund’ but instead, your device may be infected with ransomware.”

If not a customer, KnowBe4 will allow IT managers to create a free account and send a simulated phishing test to 100 users to see what the Phish-prone percentage of your organization is.

For more information visit: www.KnowBe4.com

Additional links:
Reuters story: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/01/us-sony-cybersecurity-malware-idUSKCN0JF3FE20141201
Social engineering: http://www.knowbe4.com/what-is-social-engineering/
Security Awareness Training: http://www.knowbe4.com/products/kevin-mitnick-security-awareness-training/
Ransomware: http://blog.knowbe4.com/bid/400080/New-Flavor-of-Ransomware-Is-More-User-Friendly

About Stu Sjouwerman and KnowBe4

Stu Sjouwerman (pronounced “shower-man”) is the founder and CEO of KnowBe4, LLC, which provides web-based Security Awareness Training (employee security education and behavior management) to small and medium-sized enterprises. A data security expert with more than 30 years in the IT industry, Sjouwerman was the co-founder of Inc. 500 company 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 security awareness training. KnowBe4 services hundreds of customers in a variety of industries, including highly regulated fields such as health care, finance and insurance and is experiencing explosive growth, with a surge of 427 percent in 2013 alone. Sjouwerman is the author of four books, with his latest being Cyberheist: The Biggest Financial Threat Facing American Businesses.

About Kevin Mitnick

Kevin Mitnick is an internationally recognized computer security expert with extensive experience in exposing the vulnerabilities of complex operating systems and telecommunications devices. He gained notoriety as a highly skilled hacker who penetrated some of the most resilient computer systems ever developed. Today, Mitnick is renowned as an information security consultant and speaker and has authored three books, including The New York Times bestseller Ghost in the Wires. His latest endeavor is a collaboration with KnowBe4, LLC.


Previous Post

Protecting Your Information in the Digital Age: Is Your Business Prepared?

Next Post

How CMOs Can Better Protect Customer Data

Corporate Compliance Insights

Corporate Compliance Insights

Corporate Compliance Insights

Related Posts

Kovr 2F Partnership

Kovr.ai Partners With Second Front Systems for Government Software Accreditation

by Corporate Compliance Insights
May 22, 2025

Kovr.ai and Second Front Systems have partnered to automate software accreditation processes for government agencies through a combined platform that...

SolidusLabs Launch

Solidus Labs Launches AI Agent for Trade Surveillance

by Corporate Compliance Insights
May 22, 2025

Solidus Labs has launched an agentic AI system for trade surveillance workflows at financial institutions. The New York-based firm's platform,...

TrustCloud Funding

TrustCloud Raises $15M

by Corporate Compliance Insights
May 22, 2025

Security assurance platform TrustCloud has raised $15 million in strategic funding led by ServiceNow Ventures. Cisco Investments, Presidio Ventures, OpenView...

Diligent Vault M&A

Diligent Acquires AI E&C Provider Vault

by Corporate Compliance Insights
May 22, 2025

GRC software provider Diligent has acquired Vault, an AI-powered ethics and compliance platform, to integrate speak-up technology and investigation tools...

Next Post
How CMOs Can Better Protect Customer Data

How CMOs Can Better Protect Customer Data

No Result
View All Result

Privacy Policy | AI Policy

Founded in 2010, CCI is the web’s premier global independent news source for compliance, ethics, risk and information security. 

Got a news tip? Get in touch. Want a weekly round-up in your inbox? Sign up for free. No subscription fees, no paywalls. 

Follow Us

Browse Topics:

  • CCI Press
  • Compliance
  • Compliance Podcasts
  • Cybersecurity
  • Data Privacy
  • eBooks Published by CCI
  • Ethics
  • FCPA
  • Featured
  • Financial Services
  • Fraud
  • Governance
  • GRC Vendor News
  • HR Compliance
  • Internal Audit
  • Leadership and Career
  • On Demand Webinars
  • Opinion
  • Research
  • Resource Library
  • Risk
  • Uncategorized
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • Well-Being
  • Whitepapers

© 2025 Corporate Compliance Insights

Welcome to CCI. This site uses cookies. Please click OK to accept. Privacy Policy
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • About CCI
    • CCI Magazine
    • Writing for CCI
    • Career Connection
    • NEW: CCI Press – Book Publishing
    • Advertise With Us
  • Explore Topics
    • See All Articles
    • Compliance
    • Ethics
    • Risk
    • FCPA
    • Governance
    • Fraud
    • Internal Audit
    • HR Compliance
    • Cybersecurity
    • Data Privacy
    • Financial Services
    • Well-Being at Work
    • Leadership and Career
    • Opinion
  • Vendor News
  • Library
    • Download Whitepapers & Reports
    • Download eBooks
    • New: Living Your Best Compliance Life by Mary Shirley
    • New: Ethics and Compliance for Humans by Adam Balfour
    • 2021: Raise Your Game, Not Your Voice by Lentini-Walker & Tschida
    • CCI Press & Compliance Bookshelf
  • Podcasts
    • Great Women in Compliance
    • Unless: The Podcast (Hemma Lomax)
  • Research
  • Webinars
  • Events
  • Subscribe

© 2025 Corporate Compliance Insights