KnowBe4’s AI platform helps cut phishing risk to just one percent

KnowBe4 has reported that users of its AI-driven Human Risk Management (HRM) platform have achieved significant improvements in their security awareness and risk mitigation efforts, including reductions in Phish-prone Percentage (PPP) to as low as one percent.

The company's HRM+ platform, which leverages advanced AI-driven products such as Artificial Intelligence Defence Agents (AIDA), is playing a key role in helping organisations address human-centric cybersecurity risks. First Community Credit Union, one of KnowBe4's clients, cites measurable success in security outcomes following the adoption of these tools.

AI agents for human risk management

AIDA is a suite of AI defence agents that integrates human expertise with machine learning to provide organisations with insights into human risk factors and targeted mechanisms to reduce them. According to KnowBe4, the AI system incorporates the SmartRisk Agent, which analyses 316 indicators influencing 37 factors across seven knowledge areas. AIDA enables automated, targeted security actions based on each organisation's specific threat landscape, assisting security teams in responding more swiftly, delivering more efficient training, and improving overall defences.

The company's approach is underpinned by a large dataset of simulated phishing attempts and people-focused security controls, accumulated from more than 13 million global users over 15 years. This data informs the AI's modelling and recommendations for user awareness and risk reduction.

Reduction in phishing risk

First Community Credit Union in Houston has reported a substantial reduction in staff vulnerability to phishing attempts, described by KnowBe4 as a reduction of the Phish-prone Percentage to about one percent. In a recorded testimonial, Bryan Perkola, Senior Vice President of Information Security at First Community Credit Union, commented on the impact of KnowBe4's AI products on their organisational preparedness.

"We've recently started using the AIDA products in our defenses. So being able to show how AI is actually influencing what we're doing with the defenses now versus the threats has been very significant. I couldn't imagine switching to anything else."

KnowBe4 states that six AI agents are currently deployed in the HRM+ platform, with plans to introduce an additional six by the end of 2025.

AI as a defence against advanced threats

According to Bryan Palma, Chief Executive Officer at KnowBe4, the adoption and expansion of AI capabilities are part of a broader strategy to help defenders respond more effectively to increasingly sophisticated cyber threats posed by malicious actors also utilising AI.

"One of the reasons I joined KnowBe4 is because of the company's AI leadership. Our customers are engaged in an AI arms race with cybercriminals. We are expanding the agentic capabilities of our HRM+ platform to allow defenders to outpace attackers with smarter, data-driven defenses."

Enhancements to the platform include the addition of PhishML Insights as part of the PhishER+ product suite. This feature introduces advanced threat classification for email, allowing IT security teams to set custom thresholds for message analysis confidence and receive detailed explanations on the classification of messages as clean, spam, or a threat. This aims to improve the detection and management of emerging phishing campaigns and related threats.

International customer base and service expansion

KnowBe4 reports a customer base of over 70,000 organisations worldwide, reflecting broad adoption of its solutions. The HRM+ platform combines a variety of modules, including awareness and compliance training, real-time coaching, cloud email security, crowdsourced anti-phishing tools, and AI-powered defence agents, offering a multi-layered method to reduce human risk in cybersecurity environments.

The company is continuing to expand its AI-driven capabilities, aiming to support security teams as they confront a threat landscape that rapidly evolves with the use of artificial intelligence by adversaries.