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KnowBe4 makes donation to protect endangered species
Mon, 14th Aug 2023

KnowBe4, provider of the world's largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform will celebrate its 13th anniversary by donating to protect endangered species.

KnowBe4 continuously seeks opportunities to care for and support the environment. This year, the organisation is celebrating its 13th anniversary by donating to protect 13 endangered species, one for each of the 11 countries in which KnowBe4 has an office. This includes monarch butterflies, which can be found in ecosystems worldwide, and the Florida Panther, to honour KnowBe4's headquarters in Florida.

KnowBe4 is proud to partner with Endangered Species International (ESI) to protect 12 of the endangered species and to partner with Friends of the Florida Panther Refuge to protect the Florida Panther.  

The remaining 12 endangered species and correlating countries KnowBe4 will protect include the Western Swamp Tortoise for Australia, the South American Tapir for Brazil, the Arabian Leopard for Dubai, the Apollo Butterfly for Germany, the Lion-Tailed Macaque for India, Ishikawa's Frog for Japan, the Eurasian Curlew (bird) for the Netherlands, the Green Sea Turtle for Singapore, the African Penguin for South Africa, the Pipistrelle (bat) for the United Kingdom and the Giant Tiger Salamander for the United States. 

Additionally, KnowBe4 will adopt 13 beehives, continuing the tradition for its anniversary for the third consecutive year. The beehives are adopted through the Pinellas Beekeepers Association (PBA) and will house approximately 20,000 to 35,000 honeybees. 

KnowBe4's donation ultimately adds up to 455,000 bees to the planet, estimated to pollinate about 3.9 billion flowers daily. 

Stu Sjouwerman, CEO, KnowBe4, says: "This year, we celebrate another milestone, our 13th anniversary, by protecting the endangered species that inhabit the countries and communities we work in around the world."

"We are also proud to uphold our tradition of adopting beehives for another year, which will result in real, positive effects for our planet. These donations and adoption are an excellent way to signify this milestone for our organisation with something to help improve nature." 

Other KnowBe4 philanthropy projects have included donating to clean up 12,000 pounds of garbage from the ocean, local drives for school supplies built with Habitat for Humanity, and more. 

Earlier this year, KnowBe4 awarded three individual $10,000 scholarships for Black Americans in cybersecurity, military, veteran and spouses in cybersecurity and a Women of Colour in Cybersecurity scholarship for South Africa.

KnowBe4 is used by more than 60,000 organisations around the globe. Founded by IT and data security specialist Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4 helps organisations address the human element of security by raising awareness about ransomware, CEO fraud and other social engineering tactics through a new-school approach to awareness training on security. 

Kevin Mitnick, an internationally recognised cybersecurity specialist and KnowBe4's Chief Hacking Officer, helped design the KnowBe4 training based on his well-documented social engineering tactics. Organisations rely on KnowBe4 to mobilise their end users as their last line of defence.