Florida firm that teaches companies to recognize hackers accidentally hires North Korean hacker
· Sep 21, 2024 · NottheBee.com

Remember this story from earlier this year?

Well, KnowBe4, a Florida-based company that trains more than 65,000 companies worldwide on how to spot internet security threats, reportedly got duped by one of the biggest internet security threats out there: A North Korean hacker.

KnowBe4's Roger Grimes said they did background checks, reference checks, and four video calls. It was only after he was hired that they realized he was a North Korean deepfake.

Grimes described this as a teachable moment for the company:

"It was just incredulous at first, that we had been targeted," Grimes said. "Not only did we find this fake employee, but you have to go back and go, ‘Do we have any others?'"

According to one of the founders of IdentifAI, another company that protects companies from being hacked, "When a cybersecurity company, that serves other cybersecurity companies, gets exploited, it can cause a lot of problems."

That's like saying it's really bad when the fire department burns down, or your AA sponsor passes out drunk, or the president of the United States has dementia.


Follow Ian on Substack or X (@ighaworth).


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