KnowBe4 Acquires Twist and Shout Group to Enhance High-Quality Video Production Capabilities


Producers of the award-winning “The Inside Man” series now under the KnowBe4 umbrella

KnowBe4, the provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, today announced the acquisition of the Twist and Shout Group, which encompasses Twist and Shout Media and Twist and Shout Communications. Twist and Shout Group is a UK- and US-based company with a highly respected profile in the world of employee security training. Twist and Shout will operate as ‘Twist and Shout Communications a KnowBe4 company’ and ‘Twist and Shout Media a KnowBe4 company’.Twist & Shout -2

Twist and Shout is the creative force behind “The Inside Man”, the award-winning security awareness drama series and “Restricted Intelligence,” the world’s first information security awareness sitcom, now into its sixth season. The acquisition of Twist and Shout will enable this highly creative team to keep making these series and develop exciting new ideas exclusively under the KnowBe4 umbrella.

“Twist and Shout has done an incredible job creating entertaining, Hollywood-quality employee training videos that cover topics that have historically been pretty dull,” said Stu Sjouwerman, CEO, KnowBe4. “They make fun and engaging live action security awareness training videos with relatable characters. This acquisition will greatly benefit our customers because it will provide them with even more content to help educate their employees on a very important topic.”

“It’s clear from themes running in global security events this year that the industry is waking up to the idea that human beings are essential to any security strategy,” said Jim Shields, founder and creative director, the Twist and Shout Group. “We’ve always known this and so has KnowBe4. Combining our creative success with KnowBe4’s explosive growth and incredible innovation in this market will, I believe, make us an unstoppable force in the crusade against mediocrity in training and awareness.”

“I am probably a bit biased when it comes to Twist and Shout and Restricted Intelligence – I’ve known about the brand for several years and absolutely love it,” said Christian Toon, Pinsent Masons – Twist and Shout customer. “We’ve used the Restricted Intelligence content to support our campaigns across the globe. The subject is information security, but actually, the engagement is with people. If you really want to jump off the page and get people hooked, then a great way to do that is not with the boring compliance stuff, but with comedy.”

For more information on KnowBe4, visit www.knowbe4.com. For more information on Twist and Shout, visit http://www.twistandshout.co.uk/.

About KnowBe4

KnowBe4, the provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, is used by more than 28,000 organizations around the globe. Founded by IT and data security specialist Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4 helps organizations 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 recognized cybersecurity specialist and KnowBe4's Chief Hacking Officer, helped design the KnowBe4 training based on his well-documented social engineering tactics. Tens of thousands of organizations rely on KnowBe4 to mobilize their end users as the last line of defense.

Number 161 on the list Inc. 500 of 2019, #34 on 2018’s Deloitte's Technology Fast 500, and #2 in Cybersecurity Ventures Cybersecurity 500, KnowBe4 is headquartered in Tampa Bay, Florida, with offices in Brazil, Australia, Japan, England, the Netherlands, Germany, South Africa and Singapore.

About Twist and Shout

Twist and Shout is a UK and US based video production and licensing company specializing in storytelling for business. The company was founded 26 years ago and is headed by founding partner Jim Shields.

Twist and Shout uses Netflix quality production values to create compelling and effective employee awareness programs. The first, launched in 2012, was ‘Restricted Intelligence’, offering 6 seasons of 6 x 5-minute modules. ‘The Inside Man’, a 12-episode modular drama on information security, commissioned by KnowBe4, is the most recent acquisition to the product roster.

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