BDO South Africa has a strategic partnership with security awareness training and simulated phishing platform provider KnowBe4.
The cybercrime landscape is alarming with criminals using increasingly sophisticated tactics that pose a constant and significant risk to businesses of all sizes. South Africa has been ranked fifth on the global cybercrime density list with an estimated impact of R2 billion on the country’s economy.
According to the Verizon 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report, the human element is involved in 74% of breaches, encompassing errors, misuse of privileges, use of stolen credentials, and social engineering attacks. Awareness and proactive measures are crucial in safeguarding against the growing threat landscape.
With a primary focus on helping organisations manage the ongoing problem of social engineering KnowBe4’s industry-leading security awareness training platform empowers employees to recognise and avoid these threats, significantly reducing the risk of successful cyberattacks.
“I am delighted to share that KnowBe4, the provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, is a partner of BDO Advisory Services,” says Gilchrist Mushwana, director and practice head of cybersecurity at BDO. “This partnership significantly enhances our capabilities within our Cyber Solutions business, particularly in cyber awareness and phishing simulations.”
Through this partnership, BDO South Africa will leverage KnowBe4’s award-winning security awareness training platform to offer its clients effective training that uses interactive simulation and real-world scenarios to ensure that an organisation’s employees effectively learn how to identify and avoid phishing attacks. KnowBe4 also provides reporting and analytics, enabling businesses to track the effectiveness of their training programmes and measure the impact on employee behaviour.
Mushwana comments: “The announcement confirms the company’s strategic direction and will significantly enhance our solution offerings to our clients. KnowBe4 has demonstrated great success in South Africa, aligning with local requirements to deliver top-tier products effectively, and the partnership strengthens our growth strategy as a technology provider with both local presence and global capability, which is invaluable.
“Our focus with clients is not merely to find a simple solution but to develop comprehensive strategies that cover all risk bases. Our mission is to elevate our clients, people, and communities; all our solutions reflect that commitment. We look forward to collaborating with KnowBe4 and working with our clients to strengthen the human shield against cyber-attacks and data breaches”, Mushwana adds.