FAQs: Joining KnowBe4

by j4vv4d on May 16, 2019

Welcome back from the mid-season break!

Quick recap, I left AT&T Cybersecurity aka the company formerly known as AlienVault, so I wandered the earth like Caine from Kung Fu, took up yoga, and got into adventures. Just kidding, I’ve never tried yoga!

I have joined KnowBe4 as one of their Security Awareness Advocates / Evangelists. Anticipating lots of questions, I have prepared this handy list of FAQ’s.

What’s KnowBe4?

KnowBe4 is a security company which focuses on the human side of security. You can have the best security technology in the world, but if the people who make all the decisions aren’t aware, or don’t care, or don’t have a culture of security, you’re not going to get very far.

Sponsorships Available

Wow, you turned into a corporate shill real quick!

I guess that’s part of my job. But in all seriousness, as an industry the focus is largely on technology. That’s not to say the IT Security side needs to be ignored, I’m confident we have a ton of great minds working towards solving those problems in their own ways. But the human side is one which needs more attention, and probably more aligned to what I’ve always tried to do through this blog here and my Youtube Channel, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share!

Really? You just plugged your own channels?

Sorry, reflex action.

Are you relocating to Florida?

While KnowBe4 is headquartered in Clearwater, Florida, I have no intention of being eaten by an alligator, or being referred to as “Florida man”. So, no, I’m staying in London.

What will you be doing day to day?

Having thoughts, hoping that some of them will be leading. But broadly I’ll be focussing on outbound-facing activities such as media relations, blogging, videos, podcasts, webinars and speaking at events.

Will you speak at my event?

Always happy to have a chat and see if we can work something out.

What are you most excited about?

Now that is an excellent question! I think I’m most excited about working alongside some amazing colleagues who I have already learnt a lot from. There’s Perry Carpenter who despite being an ex-Gartner analyst is… well for lack of a better term a genius. I was lucky to receive an early copy of his book, Transformational Security Awareness: What Neuroscientists, Storytellers, and Marketers Can Teach Us About Driving Secure Behaviors, and highly recommend it.

Then there’s Roger Grimes, who spent many a year at Microsoft and is the author of about 10 books, and is showing no signs of slowing down.

My old friend (old because I’ve known him for a long time, not because of his age) Erich Kron, who maintains one of the craziest travel and webinar schedules I’ve ever seen.

Last, but not least, Jelle Wieringa who is based out of the Netherlands and joined a whole 4 weeks before I did. So it’s nice to have a colleague in Europe and close to my timezone.

And those are just the people in my immediate team!

Where are you speaking next?

I’ll be speaking at Infosec Europe 2019 on Tuesday 4th June at 3:30pm.

I’m your biggest fan, can I get a selfie with you?

Lies! I’m my biggest fan. But sure, a selfie is cool.

Have you ever started a rumour in the workplace?

Well, I have started telling all my new colleagues that Erich Kron is my personal assistant. So, if everyone could refer to him as such, that would really make my day.

You haven’t made a Host Unknown music video for a long time, has the band split?

The best things come to those who wait. Despite rumours of our demise, we are still very much well and are busy working on the tough third album.

I haven’t received your newsletter for several weeks

My bad, normal service will resume soon. Don’t adjust your spam filters.

Please write more frequently, I love your blog posts

Be careful what you wish for.