Patents by Inventor Greg Kras

Greg Kras has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 12149561
    Abstract: Systems and methods of embodiments are described of a campaign controller that establishes a model for using a plurality of types of exploits based on at least results of simulated phishing communications using those exploits, and uses the model to communicate a first simulated phishing communication to one or more devices of a user where the type of exploit used for the first simulated phishing communication is selected using the model. The campaign controller applies either artificial intelligence or machine learning to the results of simulated phishing communications to establish the model. The campaign controller selects the exploit by applying either artificial intelligence or machine learning to one or more attributes of the user and/or one or more responses from the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2023
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2024
    Inventors: Alin Irimie, Stu Sjouwerman, Greg Kras, Eric Sites
  • Patent number: 12143413
    Abstract: A system and method is described that sends multiple simulated phishing emails, text messages, and/or phone calls (e.g., via VoIP) varying the quantity, frequency, type, sophistication, and combination using machine learning algorithms or other forms of artificial intelligence. In some implementations, some or all messages (email, text messages, VoIP calls) in a campaign after the first simulated phishing email, text message, or call may be used to direct the user to open the first simulated phishing email or text message, or to open the latest simulated phishing email or text message. In some implementations, simulated phishing emails, text messages, or phone calls of a campaign may be intended to lure the user to perform a different requested action, such as selecting a hyperlink in an email or text message, or returning a voice call.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2024
    Assignee: KnowBe4, Inc.
    Inventors: Alin Irimie, Stu Sjouwerman, Greg Kras, Eric Sites
  • Publication number: 20240333771
    Abstract: Systems and methods are described for recommendation of one or more security awareness workflows are described. One or more security awareness workflows may be deployed to deliver one or more remedial responses to one or more users in response to detection of one or more actions of the one or more users. An effectiveness of the one or more security awareness workflows are assessed and based at least on the assessment, one or more effectiveness metrics for the one or more security awareness workflows are determined. The one or more effectiveness metrics may represent the effectiveness of the one or more security awareness workflows. Based at least on the one or more effectiveness metrics, a recommendation of one or more security awareness workflow configurations may be identified.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2024
    Publication date: October 3, 2024
    Applicant: KnowBe4, Inc.
    Inventors: Mark William Patton, Greg Kras
  • Patent number: 12074842
    Abstract: Systems and methods are described for communication of a third-party application server with a third-party email client plug-in. The systems and the methods enable the third-party application server to provide a plug-in header contained in a message. The plug-in header may include an X-header. The X-header may be injected into the message. The plug-in installed within an email client receives the message. The plug-in is configured to process the plug-in header to identify one or more instructions to perform an action of one or more actions. The one or more instructions may relate to a property of a user and/or a property of the email client of the user. Responsive to the one or more instructions, the plug-in performs the action.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 20, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2024
    Inventor: Greg Kras
  • Patent number: 12047383
    Abstract: This disclosure describes embodiments of an improvement to the static group solution because all the administrator needs to do is specify the criteria they care about. Unlike static groups, where the administrator needs to keep track of the status of individual users and move them between static groups as their status changes, smart groups allows for automatic identification of the relevant users at the moment that action needs to be taken. This feature automates user management for the purposes of enrollment in either phishing and training campaigns. Because the smart group membership is determined as the group is about to be used for something, the smart group membership is always accurate and never outdated. The query that determines the smart group membership gets run at the time when you are about to do a campaign or perform some other action that needs to know the membership of the smart group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2024
    Inventors: Greg Kras, Alin Irimie
  • Publication number: 20240236098
    Abstract: Described herein are systems and methods to provide for blocklist recommendations based on reported threats. In an example embodiment, a method is described for receiving a selection of one or more messages from a plurality of messages identified as threats and identifying, based at least on the one or more messages, one or more candidate blocklist entries (BLEs). The method further includes determining, based at least on the one or more candidate BLEs, a recommendation of one or more BLEs to add to a blocklist. The method includes adding, by the one or more servers, the one or more BLEs to the blocklist, where the blocklist is used by an email system to block messages that match at least the one or more BLEs on the blocklist.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 8, 2023
    Publication date: July 11, 2024
    Applicant: KnowBe4, Inc.
    Inventors: Anand Dinkar Bodke, Eric Howes, Mark William Patton, Greg Kras, Christopher Cline, Brandon Scott Smith, Steffan Perry
  • Patent number: 12019741
    Abstract: Systems and methods are described for providing customized message content to be displayed to a user of an email client, responsive to the user selecting, via a plug-in or agent of the email client, to report an email as a potential phishing email. In examples, the user may be an employee of an organization and the systems and methods may facilitate a determination by the plug-in or agent of the email client that the reported email is one that does not pose a security risk, such as a simulated phishing email sent by the organization itself, or an email sent from a trusted partner of the organization. The systems and methods may facilitate a customization of the message content that is displayed to the user. In examples, the customized message content may be included or specified within one or more SMTP extension headers of an SMTP email.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2024
    Inventors: Greg Kras, Adam Alessandrini
  • Patent number: 11997136
    Abstract: Systems and methods are described for modifying one or more advertisements of a webpage or a social media feed to create a simulated cybersecurity attack. Initially, content responsive to a request by a user via a user device to access a webpage or social media feed with one or more advertisements is received. One or more advertisements are detected within the content. An advertisement of the one or more advertisements is modified or replaced with simulated cybersecurity attack advertisements. The webpage or social media feed with the modified advertisement is displayed to the user device. User interactions with the simulated cybersecurity attack content are tracked and training is provided based on user interactions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2024
    Assignee: KnowBe4, Inc.
    Inventors: Greg Kras, Chris Cline
  • Patent number: 11943253
    Abstract: Systems and methods are described for using secured groups for simulated phishing campaigns to obfuscate data for levels of privacy based on protected criteria classes. Initially, a group to resolve members of the group based on multiple users matching one or more group criteria is established. It is then determined that at least one criteria of the one or more criteria has been configured as one of multiple protected criteria classes. Responsive to the determination, the group is identified as a secured group. A query of the group is then executed to identify one or more users of the multiple users as members of the group based on the users matching the criteria of the secured group at the time of execution of the group and information of the one or more users resulting from the execution of the secured group is obfuscated in accordance with the protected criteria class.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: KnowBe4, Inc.
    Inventors: Greg Kras, Chris Cline
  • Patent number: 11936688
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for performing simulated phishing attacks using social engineering indicators. One or more failure indicators can be configured in a phishing email template, and each failure indicator can be assigned a description about that failure indicator through use of a markup tag. The phishing email template containing the markup tags corresponding to the failure indicators can be stored and can be used to generate a simulated phishing email in which the one or more markup tags are removed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: KnowBe4, Inc.
    Inventors: Alin Irimie, Greg Kras, David Austin, Benjamin Dalton
  • Patent number: 11930028
    Abstract: The present disclosure describes a system that notifies users regarding specific user decisions with respect to solution phishing emails. The system notifies users when users perform specific actions with respect to the untrusted phishing emails. The system pauses execution of these actions and prompts the user to confirm whether to take the actions or to revert back to review the actions. In contrast from anti-ransomware technologies which are entirely in control, the system gives the user autonomy in deciding actions relating to untrusted phishing emails. The system interrupts execution of actions related to untrusted phishing emails in order to give users a choice on whether to proceed with actions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: KnowBe4, Inc.
    Inventors: Bret Lowry, Gauvin Repuspolo, Greg Kras
  • Patent number: 11902324
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed that minimize ongoing risk to an organization from user behaviors which magnify the severity of a spoofed domain. Systems and method are provided which enable an entity and users of an entity to identify potential harmful domains, combining search, discovery, reporting, the generation of risk indicators, end-user risk assessments, and training into a security awareness system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Inventors: Stu Sjouwerman, Alin Irimie, Greg Kras
  • Patent number: 11876828
    Abstract: Systems and methods are described for using a template for simulated phishing campaigns based on predetermined date from a date associated with a user. The predetermined date may by an event, an anniversary or a milestone associated with employment of the user with a company. The campaign controller may identify a date associated with the user and based on the identification of the date associated with the user, the campaign controller may select one or more templates for one or more simulated phishing campaigns to be triggered by a predetermined date related to the date associated with the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: KnowBe4, Inc.
    Inventor: Greg Kras
  • Patent number: 11856025
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for simulating a phishing attack involving an email thread. An email thread of a plurality of email threads of an entity for use in a simulated phishing attack is identified. A simulation system generates a converted reply simulated phishing email to an email of the email thread. The converted reply simulated phishing email is generated to be from a user that is one of a recipient or a sender of one or more emails of the email thread and is communicated to a target user's email account, the converted reply simulated phishing email.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: KnowBe4, Inc.
    Inventor: Greg Kras
  • Publication number: 20230388343
    Abstract: Systems and methods of embodiments are described of a campaign controller that establishes a model for using a plurality of types of exploits based on at least results of simulated phishing communications using those exploits, and uses the model to communicate a first simulated phishing communication to one or more devices of a user where the type of exploit used for the first simulated phishing communication is selected using the model. The campaign controller applies either artificial intelligence or machine learning to the results of simulated phishing communications to establish the model. The campaign controller selects the exploit by applying either artificial intelligence or machine learning to one or more attributes of the user and/or one or more responses from the user.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 3, 2023
    Publication date: November 30, 2023
    Inventors: Alin Irimie, Stu Sjouwerman, Greg Kras, Eric Sites
  • Patent number: 11799909
    Abstract: The present disclosure describes systems and methods for using for a simulated phishing campaign, information about one or more situations of a user determined from an electronic calendar of the user, A campaign controller may identify/an electronic calendar of a user for which to direct a simulated phishing campaign, determine one or more situations of the user from information stored in the electronic calendar and select either a template from a plurality of templates or a starting action from a plurality of starting actions for the simulated phishing campaign based at least on the one or more situations of the user. The campaign controller may communicate to one or more devices of the user a simulated phishing communication based at least on the respective template or starting action.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: KnowBe4, Inc.
    Inventor: Greg Kras
  • Patent number: 11792225
    Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosure describe systems and methods for selecting a first group of users, which is selected to receive simulated phishing emails as part of a simulated phishing campaign, and adding users to a second group of users based upon those selected users interacting with a simulated phishing email that is part of a simulated phishing campaign; tracking the completion of remediation training related to phishing emails by users in the second group of users and receiving one or more indications that the users in the second group of users have completed remedial training; and automatically adding users, who are members of the second user group, to the first user group, to a third user group, or to a predetermined user group responsive to the one or more indications that the users in the second group of users have completed remedial training.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: KnowBe4, Inc.
    Inventors: Greg Kras, Alin Irimie
  • Patent number: 11777986
    Abstract: Systems and methods of embodiments are described of a campaign controller that establishes a model for using a plurality of types of exploits based on at least results of simulated phishing communications using those exploits, and uses the model to communicate a first simulated phishing communication to one or more devices of a user where the type of exploit used for the first simulated phishing communication is selected using the model. The campaign controller applies either artificial intelligence or machine learning to the results of simulated phishing communications to establish the model. The campaign controller selects the exploit by applying either artificial intelligence or machine learning to one or more attributes of the user and/or one or more responses from the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: KnowBe4, Inc.
    Inventors: Alin Irimie, Stu Sjouwerman, Greg Kras, Eric Sites
  • Publication number: 20230308471
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for determining template difficulty based on user security maturity. In an example, a method includes communicating one or more simulated phishing communications to a plurality of users. Each of the users are assigned a user security maturity level of a plurality of user security maturity levels. The one or more simulated phishing communications are generated using a simulated phishing template. The method includes recording the user security maturity level of a user and a type of user interaction for each of the responses to the one or more simulated phishing communications from the users and determining, a failure rate of the simulated phishing template at each user security maturity level of the plurality of user security maturity levels based on the type of user interaction for each of the responses from one or more users assigned to each user security maturity level.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 23, 2023
    Publication date: September 28, 2023
    Applicant: KnowBe4, Inc.
    Inventor: Greg Kras
  • Publication number: 20230259861
    Abstract: Systems and methods are described for security maturity determination. Initially, first value for security knowledge level and second value for security awareness level of a user are determined. Further, third value for security culture level of a group of the user is determined. Thereafter, fourth value of security maturity of user is determined based at least on function of first value, second value, and third value. The user is then grouped into class of users comprising one or more additional users, wherein the fourth value of security maturity of the user falls within a predetermined range of security maturity values associated with class of users, class of users comprising one or more additional users. A phish prone percentage of user is benchmarked with phish phone percentage of one of one or more additional users of class of users. The benchmarking of phish prone percentage of user is displayed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 10, 2023
    Publication date: August 17, 2023
    Applicant: KNOWBE4, INC.
    Inventors: Greg Kras, Perry Carpenter