New “Secret Agent” themed campaign-in-a-box equips organizations with training module and tabletop exercises to educate employees to combat cybercrime

KnowBe4, the leader in digital workforce security, securing both AI agents and humans, today released its free resource kit in support of Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2026. This year’s toolkit casts employees as “Secret Agents” in the elite Workforce Risk Division and provides IT leaders with tools to build organizational resilience against evolving cyber threats.

Observed every October, Cybersecurity Awareness Month is an international initiative led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance. The campaign provides organizations worldwide an opportunity to strengthen their security culture by driving awareness around social engineering, artificial intelligence threats, data security and active threat reporting.

“Cybersecurity Awareness Month is an opportunity for the security community to present engaging, new content to their users and drive home the importance of staying secure, even if they have existing security awareness training,” says Erich Kron, CISO advisor at KnowBe4. “With cybercriminals adopting AI-driven tactics such as deepfakes and advanced social engineering, threats are continuously evolving and organizations need fresh, engaging ways to keep users vigilant. This year’s kit turns security awareness into an interactive mission, empowering employees to see themselves as active defenders.”

"Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a reminder that cybersecurity is more than an IT issue,” said Lisa Plaggemier, executive director, National Cybersecurity Alliance. “Cybersecurity skills are life skills. Every person, family, and organization has a role to play in creating a safer digital world. We're grateful to partners like KnowBe4 who help expand the reach of this important work and make it possible to equip more people with practical guidance.”

KnowBe4’s eighth annual Cybersecurity Awareness Month resource kit organizes October into four week-long cyber missions, focusing on phishing & social engineering, AI safety & deepfakes, data security & passwords, and incident reporting. Along the way, employees will meet four Workforce Risk Division specialists, each with unique skills to tackle the cyber threats of the week.

The kit includes:

• Four "Workforce Risk Division Specialist" character cards/posters, plus additional posters and digital signage assets available in multiple languages
• Four tabletop exercise documents to test team skills in real-life scenarios across multiple common cybersecurity risk types
• Access to a curated collection of security awareness training videos and interactive modules from KnowBe4's award-winning training library
• Resources to help plan activities, including the Cybersecurity Awareness Month Resource Kit Strategy Dossier and a Weekly Planner
• A top-secret Mission Brief on a KnowBe4 free tool
• Access to two of KnowBe4’s newest on-demand webinars and whitepapers

Feedback from a KnowBe4 customer highlights the value of the Cybersecurity Awareness Month kit in raising awareness: “I'm very excited for this! I’m sure our users will love this theme and since we’re finally starting to come back into the office, I am going to start putting up posters again. Looking forward to these!” - Janelle Maurer, Senior Cyber Security Specialist at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.

Download KnowBe4’s free Cybersecurity Awareness Month kit here.

About KnowBe4

KnowBe4 empowers the modern workforce to make smarter security decisions every day. Trusted by more than 70,000 organizations worldwide, KnowBe4 is the pioneer of digital workforce security, securing both AI agents and humans. The KnowBe4 Platform provides attack simulation and training, collaboration security, and agent security powered by AIDA (Artificial Intelligence Defense Agents) and a proprietary Risk Score. The platform leverages 15-years of behavioral data to combat advanced threats including social engineering, prompt injection, and shadow AI. By securing humans and agents, KnowBe4 leads the industry in workforce trust and defense.

More info at www.knowbe4.com. Follow KnowBe4 on LinkedIn and Instagram.

FAQs:

Q: What is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and how can I get involved?

Cybersecurity Awareness Month is an international initiative observed every October and led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Cybersecurity Alliance. It provides IT leaders with an opportunity to introduce fresh, engaging content to users and educate them on the evolving cyber landscape. Organizations can get involved in Cybersecurity Awareness Month with free tools such as KnowBe4’s resource kit.

Q: What free tools are available for Cybersecurity Awareness Month?

KnowBe4’s 2026 Cybersecurity Awareness Month toolkit is a free, "Secret Agent"-themed resource designed to help IT leaders educate employees and build organizational resilience against evolving cyber threats. The toolkit organizes October into four week-long cyber missions covering phishing & social engineering, AI safety & deepfakes, data security & passwords, and incident reporting.

Q: Who can use KnowBe4’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month resource kit, and where can it be downloaded?

KnowBe4’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month resource kit is free and available to IT leaders, and security teams at organizations of all sizes, looking to strengthen their security culture. Download KnowBe4’s free kit at https://www.knowbe4.com/resources/kits/cybersecurity-awareness-month.

Q: What is KnowBe4 and who is it for?

KnowBe4 is a cybersecurity company focused on securing the digital workforce, securing both humans and AI agents through a single platform spanning attack simulation and training, collaboration security, and agent security, all powered by AIDA (Artificial Intelligence Defense Agents) and a proprietary Risk Score built from 316 unique indicators. Founded in 2010, KnowBe4 has been delivering AI-powered security since 2016, backed by 50+ patents, 70+ deep integrations, and 15+ years of behavioral data, and is trusted by more than 70,000 organizations worldwide, having trained over 100 million people, which includes 1 in 3 full-time workers in the U.S. The company is for CISOs and Compliance leaders who need visibility, automation, and metrics that speak to the board, SOC teams needing automation that cuts through alert noise, and security awareness admins who need to measure and change behavior.

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