KnowBe4 marks AIDA decade & names AI innovation VP

KnowBe4 has marked 10 years since it released a beta version of AIDA, its Artificial Intelligence Defence Agents, and said it now has seven AI agents deployed in market for Human Risk Management workflows.

The security awareness and training provider said the agents are in use across more than 70,000 organisations. The company described the software as automation for tasks that sit inside its Human Risk Management offering.

KnowBe4 also named Harlan Parrott as VP of AI Innovation. He will lead an expanded AI Centre of Excellence at the company.

AI Agents

KnowBe4 said its AIDA agents cover several functions linked to user-focused security programmes. The company listed the generation of contextual phishing simulations, automated remedial training, policy-based quizzes and customised deepfakes for education.

In the announcement, KnowBe4 positioned the agents as a way to remove manual work from security teams. It said the goal is for staff to spend more time on higher-level risk decisions.

KnowBe4 described its current set of AI agents as "in-market proven" and said they have been available for more than a year. The company did not provide a breakdown of adoption by region or industry, or the number of seats covered under customer deployments.

It also did not disclose pricing for AIDA or whether the agents come as part of a bundle inside its Human Risk Management products.

Data History

KnowBe4 linked its AI work to its internal data sets. It said it has built up 15 years of user behaviour and threat intelligence data. The company said it began exploring AI in 2016.

KnowBe4 also pointed to the expansion of attack methods aimed at end users. It referenced phishing, vishing and smishing. It said it combined these methods into multi-faceted, AI-simulated social engineering attacks.

The company positioned this approach as a response to more complex threats. It described its offering as part of a broader shift in cyber security towards addressing human and AI agent risk.

"At KnowBe4, we've shaped the future of AI-driven risk management to deliver smarter, faster and more effective human risk management," said Greg Kras, Chief Product Officer, KnowBe4. "While others are just beginning to explore the potential of AI, we are celebrating ten years of in-market proven innovation. With seven agents already available, and more on the way, we are enabling security teams to move away from manual administration and focus on strategic risk decisions that truly move the needle."

Leadership Move

KnowBe4 said Parrott will lead its enhanced AI Centre of Excellence. The company said the group will expand the use of AI within internal operations and across its product suite.

It said Parrott has more than 20 years of experience in SaaS and cloud platform development. KnowBe4 also described him as bringing an operational perspective on AI.

KnowBe4 said the AI Centre of Excellence will focus on building and using new AI solutions. It also linked the unit to internal efficiency and product development.

"The intersection of AI and cybersecurity is the most critical challenge in our industry today," said Parrott. "I look forward to developing KnowBe4's use of AI as we commit to embedding advanced solutions across the organisation; from accelerating our operations to developing new, powerful defences against the next generation of AI-driven threats."

Bryan Palma, CEO of KnowBe4, said the appointment formed part of its broader AI push.

"Harlan's appointment marks a key milestone for KnowBe4 as we enhance our commitment to Artificial Intelligence," said Palma. "His deep expertise in machine learning and cybersecurity are precisely what is needed to lead our AI Centre of Excellence. Harlan's vision will be instrumental in leading the next frontier of AI across our organisation."

KnowBe4 said it plans additional agents beyond the seven currently available.