CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

KnowBe4 vs Salt Security

KnowBe4 sells attack simulation and training, email and collaboration security, and agent security through the KnowBe4 Platform. Salt Security provides security for the APIs, MCP servers and data infrastructure where agents execute. CISO Tribune files both under AI model and agent security. This page sets the two records side by side: what each sells, where it is based, who owns and funds it, the customers it names and its recent news, each fact numbered to its source.

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  • KnowBe4
  • Salt Security
KnowBe4 vs Salt Security: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
KnowBe4KnowBe4 sells attack simulation and training, email and collaboration security, and agent security through the KnowBe4 Platform.knowbe4.comSalt SecuritySalt Security provides security for the APIs, MCP servers and data infrastructure where agents execute.salt.security
What it sells
  • Security Awareness Training[4][5][7]Education on recognizing threats, reinforced with phishing and vishing simulations.
  • Cloud Email Security[10]A suite of AI-driven products for inbound and outbound email.
  • Defend[1][4][5][6][10][11]Inbound email protection against phishing, ransomware and business email compromise.
  • Prevent[5][10][12]Outbound email protection and data loss prevention.
  • Compliance Plus[13]Compliance training platform.
  • Student Edition[5]Security awareness training for academic institutions.
  • BreachSim[14]A free tool to identify network vulnerabilities.
  • Weak Password Test[15]A free tool that finds users with weak passwords.
  • Agentic Security Graph[4][8]Maps and correlates the full environment out-of-band.
  • Salt Surface[5][9]Provides agentless, outside-in discovery of MCP servers and APIs.
  • Salt Connect[5][9]Provides cloud and code inventory.
Categories
Headquarters
Clearwater, United StatesPalo Alto, United States[1][3]
Founded
2010[1]2016[1][11]
Ownership and funding
Owned by Vista Equity Partners since 2023[2][4][8][9]Not stated on its pages
Named customers
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Recent news
  • May 5, 2026KnowBe4 launched a two-tier Security Awareness Training offering and a new AI defense agent for custom content creation.[7]
  • April 6, 2026Dashlane announced an integration with KnowBe4 that links credential risk detection to security training for at-risk users.[18]
  • June 1, 2026Salt Security launched Salt Code, a component that enforces security policies on AI-generated code across the development lifecycle.[17]
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: listed, seen November 4, 2026[8]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: listed, seen November 4, 2026[9]
  • G2: listed, seen November 10, 2026[7]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
Who it fits
Not written yetFrom its own pages, the company shows an industry solution for Finance, described as stop fraud and abuse. It lists one for Healthcare, described as HIPPAA-grade protection. Transportation is also listed, with secure logistics APIs. Retail is listed, with protect PII at scale. Software is listed, with API-first app security. Its whitepaper page also says security teams face a challenge in which the action layer goes unmonitored.
Last verified
September 27, 2026September 27, 2026

Where they overlap

  • KnowBe4 and Salt Security are both filed under AI model and agent security.
  • Both are headquartered in the United States.

Where they differ, field by field

  • KnowBe4's primary category is Security awareness training; Salt Security's is API security.
  • KnowBe4 is also filed under Human risk management and Email security.
  • KnowBe4 lists Security Awareness Training, Cloud Email Security, Defend, Prevent, Compliance Plus and 3 more. Salt Security lists Agentic Security Graph, Salt Surface and Salt Connect.
  • KnowBe4 is headquartered in Clearwater, United States. Salt Security is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States.
  • KnowBe4 was founded in 2010. Salt Security was founded in 2016.
  • KnowBe4 is owned by Vista Equity Partners, since 2023.

What it sells: KnowBe4

What Security Awareness Training does[4][5][7]
KnowBe4 says it delivers timely, personalized education that helps people recognize threats. Lessons are reinforced with realistic phishing and vishing simulations.
What Cloud Email Security does[10]
KnowBe4 Cloud Email Security is a suite of AI-driven products designed to detect and prevent advanced email threats across inbound and outbound communication. Contextual banners and prompts are delivered at the point of risk.
What Defend does[1][4][5][6][10][11]
Defend detects and blocks phishing, ransomware and business email compromise with behavioral AI and self-learning threat models. Defend inserts color-coded banners on flagged email and rewrites links, checking them at time of click. Defend integrates with Microsoft Defender for Office 365 through API-based connectivity.
What Prevent does[5][10][12]
Prevent monitors outbound email in real time and alerts users to risky behavior, such as accidental sends or misdirected emails. Prevent is integrated with Microsoft Outlook and Office 365. Prevent Enterprise adds misdirected content detection and custom DLP policies.
What Compliance Plus does[13]
Compliance Plus has a training library of 1000+ items of compliance training content. Compliance Plus offers targeted training for requirements such as HIPAA, PCI and GDPR. Organizations can upload SCORM-compliant content to the KnowBe4 LMS.
What Student Edition does[5]
The KnowBe4 Student Edition enables academic institutions to prepare students to identify and prevent modern cyberattacks. Its training content covers phishing, BYOD risks, password hygiene, social media risks and campus scams.
What BreachSim does[14]
BreachSim is a free tool from KnowBe4 to identify network vulnerabilities. BreachSim tests over 12 realistic data exfiltration scenarios following the MITRE ATT&CK framework.
What Weak Password Test does[15]
The Weak Password Test is a free tool to help IT Administrators know which users have passwords that are easily guessed. It checks the Active Directory and generates a report of users with weak passwords.

What it sells: Salt Security

What Agentic Security Graph does[4][8]
Salt's Agentic Security Graph maps and correlates the full environment out-of-band. Salt describes its agentic security platform as one graph of agents, the MCP servers they use and the APIs they call, with the context behind each one.
What Salt Surface does[5][9]
Salt Surface provides agentless, outside-in discovery of MCP servers and APIs. Salt Surface discovers these from the outside, without an agent.
What Salt Connect does[5][9]
Salt Connect provides cloud and code inventory. Salt names Salt Connect together with collectors that are used where runtime analysis is needed.

Questions about KnowBe4 and Salt Security

What do KnowBe4 and Salt Security sell?
KnowBe4 sells Security Awareness Training, Cloud Email Security, Defend, Prevent, Compliance Plus and 3 more. Salt Security sells Agentic Security Graph, Salt Surface and Salt Connect.
Are KnowBe4 and Salt Security in the same category?
They share AI model and agent security. KnowBe4's primary category is Security awareness training and Salt Security's is API security.
Where are KnowBe4 and Salt Security headquartered?
KnowBe4 is headquartered in Clearwater, United States. Salt Security is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States.
When were KnowBe4 and Salt Security founded?
KnowBe4 was founded in 2010. Salt Security was founded in 2016.
Who owns KnowBe4 and Salt Security?
KnowBe4 is owned by Vista Equity Partners, since 2023.
Who are KnowBe4 and Salt Security sold to?
From its own pages, the company shows an industry solution for Finance, described as stop fraud and abuse.
What have KnowBe4 and Salt Security announced recently?
May 5, 2026: KnowBe4 launched a two-tier Security Awareness Training offering and a new AI defense agent for custom content creation. June 1, 2026: Salt Security launched Salt Code, a component that enforces security policies on AI-generated code across the development lifecycle.

About KnowBe4

KnowBe4 sells attack simulation and training, email and collaboration security, and agent security through the KnowBe4 Platform. KnowBe4 says it protects humans, and now their AI agents too. KnowBe4 says its platform uses 15 years of behavioral data against threats including social engineering, prompt injection and shadow AI. KnowBe4 says it serves more than 70,000 organizations worldwide.[6]

KnowBe4 describes its personalized education as helping people recognize threats, followed by realistic phishing and vishing simulations. KnowBe4's AI-Native Security Awareness Training gives academic institutions a path to reducing student-driven human risk. Real-Time Coaching sends a contextual SecurityTip to reinforce secure behavior when a student clicks a suspicious link or tries to access restricted content. AIDA automates training assignments, phishing simulations, policy quizzes and knowledge refreshers based on each student's individual risk profile. KnowBe4 says its agent security is powered by AIDA, short for Artificial Intelligence Defense Agents, and a proprietary Risk Score. KnowBe4 says it offers real-time visibility, automated threat detection and active AI agent control to eliminate AI security blind spots.[5][6]

KnowBe4 Cloud Email Security is a suite of AI-driven products designed to detect and prevent advanced email threats across inbound and outbound communication. Defend detects and blocks phishing, ransomware and business email compromise with behavioral AI and self-learning threat models, and enhances Microsoft 365's built-in security. Prevent monitors outbound email in real time and alerts users to risky behavior, such as accidental sends or misdirected emails. Protect offers policy-based email encryption and automatically enforces an organization's security policies. KnowBe4 says its layered cloud defenses spot and stop phishing, malware and social engineering attacks. KnowBe4 Cloud Email Security delivers contextual banners and prompts at the point of risk, which KnowBe4 says augment security awareness and training through real-time teachable moments.[5][10]

Defend combines AI-powered detection, real-time user education and actionable insights to protect against phishing threats. Defend inserts color-coded banners when an inbound email is flagged, providing risk explanations and teachable feedback. Defend rewrites links and checks them at time of click. Defend detects QR codes within email to warn users of quishing attempts. Defend includes sender policy verification lookup and validation for SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Defend filters graymail to a separate folder. Defend integrates into MS Outlook apps on Windows Desktop, Mac, iOS and Android, and with MS Safelinks. The KnowBe4 Defend and Microsoft Defender for Office 365 integration delivers threat management through API-based connectivity. Defend has an API that supports integration into a SIEM/SOAR. A Microsoft Sentinel connector is available on Azure marketplace for Native Microsoft customers.[5][11]

Prevent uses machine learning to analyze emails in real time, focusing on sender behavior, content and recipients. Prevent is integrated with Microsoft Outlook and Office 365. Prevent alerts users when they receive or attempt to interact with domains less than 50 days old. Prevent Enterprise adds misdirected content detection, custom DLP policies and integration with Microsoft Azure Information Protection (Purview). Prevent Enterprise features are customized to an organization's DLP requirements and require Professional Services to implement.[10][12]

Compliance Plus has a training library of 1000+ items of compliance training content. Compliance Plus offers targeted training for legislative and data privacy requirements, such as HIPAA, PCI and GDPR. With Compliance Plus, organizations can incorporate their own policies and procedures into brandable modules and upload SCORM-compliant training and video content to the KnowBe4 LMS. The KnowBe4 Student Edition enables academic institutions to prepare students to identify and prevent modern cyberattacks. Student Edition training content covers phishing, BYOD risks, password hygiene, social media risks, campus scams and off-campus data security.[5][13]

BreachSim is a free tool from KnowBe4 to identify network vulnerabilities. BreachSim tests over 12 realistic data exfiltration scenarios following the MITRE ATT&CK framework. The Weak Password Test is a free tool to help IT Administrators know which users have passwords that are easily guessed. The Weak Password Test checks the Active Directory for several types of weak password-related threats and generates a report of users with weak passwords. KnowBe4's Security Culture Benchmarking Analysis Center provides analysis of security culture benchmarking data by industry, organizational size and geographical region.[14][15][16]

Hood College used Student Edition to see an increase in reported phishing emails and to reduce clicking on phishing campaigns. Bridgewater State University is a KnowBe4 customer. The Mido Foundation equipped young learners to recognize and respond to real-world cyber threats with KnowBe4. One customer says it selected KnowBe4 Defend and Prevent as added security layers in its Microsoft 365 environment. The KnowBe4 CSM team assists in guiding customers through onboarding tasks at no additional cost. KnowBe4 Customer Success Managers work with customers to tailor program requirements based on organizational goals, objectives and desired outcomes. KnowBe4's Customer Success Team spans the globe.[3][5][6][10][11][13][17]

KnowBe4 on the record

Sources

KnowBe4 full record

  1. [1]About usKnowBe4 · knowbe4.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Vista equity partners completes acquisition of knowbe4KnowBe4 · knowbe4.com · published February 1, 2023 · Tier A
  3. [3]Contact usKnowBe4 · knowbe4.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]KnowBe4 | Secure Your Digital Workforce: Human + AIKnowBe4 · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]KnowBe4 Student Edition | KnowBe4KnowBe4 · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Warning: Attackers Are Using Calendar Invite Files to Evade Security FiltersKnowBe4 · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]KnowBe4 Launches AI-Native Attack Simulation & Training Product and Twelfth AI AgentBusiness Wire · published May 5, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training Reviews 2026 - G2G2 · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier C
  9. [9]KnowBe4 Reviews, Ratings & Features 2026 | Gartner Peer InsightsGartner Peer Insights · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier C
  10. [10]Cloud Email Security for Microsoft 365 | KnowBe4KnowBe4 · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Pricing | DefendKnowBe4 · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Pricing | Prevent | KnowBe4KnowBe4 · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Compliance Plus: Compliance Training Platform | KnowBe4KnowBe4 · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]BreachSim | KnowBe4KnowBe4 · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  15. [15]Weak Password Test | KnowBe4KnowBe4 · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  16. [16]Security Culture Report Analysis Center | KnowBe4KnowBe4 · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  17. [17]KnowBe4 Customer Success | KnowBe4KnowBe4 · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  18. [18]Dashlane Launches First-of-its-Kind Integration with KnowBe4 to Transform Security Awareness into Proactive DefensePR Newswire · published April 6, 2026 · Tier A

Salt Security full record

  1. [1]Salt security raises 140 million series d round led by capitalg at 1 4 billion valuationSalt Security · salt.security · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Salt security extends its agentic security platform with native ai detection and responseSalt Security · salt.security · published September 22, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Contact usSalt Security · salt.security · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]The Agentic Security Graph: A New Framework for the AI EraSalt Security · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Salt Security: Agentic AI Security, MCP Discovery, and API SecuritySalt Security · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]EU AI Act Compliance 2026: What High-risk AI Systems Must Do Now | Salt SecuritySalt Security · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Salt Security Reviews & Product Details - G2G2 · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier C
  8. [8]Onyx Security vs Salt Security | Secure the Agentic Action LayerSalt Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Securing APIs - API Attack Surface Management SolutionSalt Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Salt Security Master Services AgreementSalt Security · published May 20, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]API Security Company - About Us Salt Security API SecuritySalt Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Agentic Security Platform - Complete AI & API Protection PlatformSalt Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]API Security Software - API Security Management SoftwareSalt Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Proactive API Security - “Shift Left" API DevelopmentSalt Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  15. [15]API Security Customers - Salt Security CustomersSalt Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  16. [16]API Security Trends - API Attacks, Breaches & Threats ReportSalt Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  17. [17]Salt Security launches Salt CodeSalt Security · published June 1, 2026 · Tier A

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