SAN ANTONIO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Security awareness training company AwareGO today announced 2020 company milestones and overall performance that includes several multi-year and multi-million dollar deals with Fortune 200 companies in the US and Europe, helping draw M&A interest.
The company has entered into acquisition discussions with at least four major cybersecurity companies within the last year, its founder and CEO Ragnar Sigurdsson states. Sigurdsson is not able to comment on current talks, but the offers speak to AwareGO's success amid the pandemic.
AwareGO launched its advanced learning management system and security awareness content in 2018 as a digital-first provider that aimed to help companies and individuals stay ahead of the curve in cybersecurity. It has since been funded and financially backed by international investment company Eyrir Ventures. Currently AwareGO is collaborating with Icelandic Kvika bank and is preparing for a Series A funding. The company today has 26 full-time employees across Iceland, the USA, Czech Republic, and Croatia.
AwareGO’s user base is now seven times the size it was two years ago with an impressive customer retention rate of 99%. "We’re dedicated to delivering effective and proven cyber security awareness for safer workplaces and to building a strong security culture that empowers employees worldwide to become the first line of defense in this highly digitalized brave new world," says Sigurdsson.
In 2020 seventy five percent of AwareGO’s revenue came from individual clients, specifically large enterprises with 500+ employees and SMEs. The remainder was from AwareGO's partner and channel networks via content and platform licensing. In 2021, AwareGO will put increased focus on its partner program, teaming up with MSPs and MSSPs to expand its partner network.
In the past three years, AwareGO has produced more than 65 cybersecurity training videos, available in 12 languages and numerous reinforcement content such as: 52 shades of cybersecurity : Weekly habits for a cyber secure year, The AwareGO checklist for cyber secure online shopping, security awareness posters, and social media assets such as the Cybersecurity Horoscope 2021, and countless other thought leadership pieces on cyber secure remote work and safe workplaces. In 2020 AwareGO also published Cybersecurity For Dummies - AwareGO Special Edition, an e-book dedicated to cybersecurity. The book, written by experts Maria Bada, PhD, and Sigurdsson, CISSP and an ethical hacker, provides cybersecurity awareness and specific guidance in a simple language for non-techies and techies alike.
"While unusual for us all, 2020 was a very exciting year in so many ways," Sigurdsson added. "We doubled the number of employees, adding some exceptional talent and experts to our team and launched exciting new products and content.”
Among the talents added to the AwareGO team is Dr. Maria Bada, behavioral scientist and cyber security expert as an external behavior scientist. Dr. Bada, holds a Ph.D. in psychology and has extensive experience in behavior change and developing security awareness programs in many countries. Throughout her successful career, Dr. Bada has worked with the British Government as well as governments globally and a wide range of international organizations in order to assess national and organizational level cybersecurity maturity.
In joining AwareGO Bada will be collaborating with AwareGO’s product teams to develop new software capabilities and also with the content creation department to help them identify and address upcoming cyber threats with new security awareness training videos and programs.
“I am very excited to be part of the initiatives and work of AwareGO. For years I have been a fan of the approach AwareGO is taking in security awareness training. Cybersecurity is all about the human factor and this is exactly what we will be exploring together,” said Bada.
AwareGO also added Dr. Isabelle Landreau, law professor and attorney registered at the Paris Bar, as its Data Protection Officer (DPR). Dr. Landreau has extensive experience in data privacy and data protection, Innovative Numeric Technology Law and Intellectual Property Law.
“As DPO I look forward to being a privacy facilitator for our company and its customers. Ensuring that everyone understands and follows data privacy and protection standards on any aspect of the activities of the company, at the very beginning of company projects and during ongoing projects. Data matters, Personal Data matters and Data business activity matters!”, said Landreau.
This year, AwareGO will roll out a comprehensive and interactive assessment tool, designed to assess human knowledge and key behaviors across different threat areas - addressing the industry’s biggest challenge: How to measure the effect of Security Awareness Training, change in the user behavior and the overall security culture at the workplace.
About AwareGO
AwareGO is a global provider of security awareness training content and solutions that help enterprises improve cybersecurity awareness in the workplace and protect their business from modern-day cybersecurity risks. AwareGO’s continuously growing library of training videos applies best-in-class tools and techniques from the advertising industry to create effective one-minute, real-life videos proven to increase security awareness. To date, the company has successfully trained more than 8 million employees worldwide.
Based in Iceland, AwareGO has locations in the United States, Czech Republic, and Croatia as well as numerous partnerships around the world. For more information visit awarego.com or follow AwareGO on Linkedin.
