KnowBe4 Report Reveals U.S. Public Sector Faces Unrelenting Cyber Threats

Advanced threat activity, chronic staffing shortages and a rapidly expanding regulatory environment challenge the sector’s cybersecurity capabilities

TAMPA BAY, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--KnowBe4, the world-renowned platform that comprehensively addresses human and agentic AI risk management, today announced it has released a new white paper, “Security the Public Sector at Scale: How Unified Human Risk Management Drives Cyber Resilience,” which focuses on the U.S. public sector’s vulnerabilities to human risk.

The public sector faces four main cybersecurity challenges – unrelenting threats against government and education, chronic resource constraints, rising compliance oversight pressure and human error remains the biggest cybersecurity threat. Ransomware, phishing, business email compromise and credential theft continue to surge across all levels of government and education. Local governments, in particular, are bearing the brunt of these attacks – accounting for an estimated 43% of ransomware victims in 2025 according to the 2025 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report. These attacks are increasingly precise and human-focused.

“As a leader with experience in both the public and private sector, I have unique perspectives on the challenges that cybersecurity leaders face and how to overcome them,” said Bryan Palma, CEO, KnowBe4. “The public sector manages vast amounts of sensitive data, operates with limited budgets and resources, and is increasingly in the crosshairs of threat actors ranging from ransomware gangs to nation-state adversaries. We are proud to support the public sector mission by providing the tools and intelligence necessary to empower their most valuable asset, people, against these threats.”

KnowBe4’s public sector customers find value and security benefits for the entire organization in the KnowBe4 platform: “Any fault in our technology or error from our staff could impact thousands of city residents,” said Hossam Reziqa, chief information officer, City of Daytona Beach. “It is imperative that we are aware of what we have so we can secure our systems. I have been a customer of KnowBe4 for at least 12 years. KnowBe4 is, hands down, one of the best platforms to train users on emerging threats. A key benefit of KnowBe4 is the quality of the content, whether it is gamification, video, or the questions asked.”

Download the latest KnowBe4 white paper here.

About KnowBe4

KnowBe4 empowers workforces to make smarter security decisions every day. Trusted by more than 70,000 organizations worldwide, KnowBe4 builds security culture and helps teams manage both human and agent risk. The company delivers a comprehensive, agentic best-of-suite platform for Human Risk Management, creating an adaptive defense layer that reinforces secure behavior against evolving cybersecurity threats. The HRM+ platform includes awareness training, integrated cloud email security, real-time coaching, crowdsourced anti-phishing, AI Defense Agents, and more. As AI becomes increasingly embedded in business operations, KnowBe4 prepares the modern workforce by training both humans and AI agents to recognize and respond to security risks. Through this unified approach, KnowBe4 leads workforce trust management and defense strategies. More info at knowbe4.com.

Follow KnowBe4 on LinkedIn, X, TikTok and Instagram.