Kevin David Mitnick, 59, has passed away following a year long battle with cancer

The Mitnick Family and KnowBe4 announce the passing of Kevin Mitnick, 59, following a 14-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Kevin fought bravely for more than a year, and died peacefully on Sunday, July 16, 2023.

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Kevin David Mitnick, 59, has passed away following a year long battle with cancer (Photo: Business Wire)

Kevin will always remain “the world’s most famous hacker” and was renowned for his intelligence, humor and extraordinary skill with technology, surpassed only by his talent as the original “social engineer”. More importantly, Kevin was a loving and devoted husband to his wife, Kimberley, who diligently stood beside him during his battle with cancer. Kimberley is expecting the arrival of the couple's first child later this year.

In November of 2011, Kevin became the Chief Hacking Officer and partial owner of KnowBe4, founded by close friend and business partner, Stu Sjouwerman, who commented, “Kevin was a dear friend to me and many of us here at KnowBe4. He is truly a luminary in the development of the cybersecurity industry, but mostly, Kevin was just a wonderful human being and he will be dearly missed.”

A memorial for Kevin will take place in Las Vegas on August 1, 2023, where he will be buried near his mother and grandmother in a local Jewish cemetery per his wishes. The details of the memorial will be announced soon, including details to allow for his many friends and colleagues to attend virtually.

For more information please contact Kathy Wattman at pr@knowbe4.com | 727-474-9950.

About KnowBe4

KnowBe4, the provider of the world’s largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, is used by more than 60,000 organizations around the globe. Founded by IT and data security specialist Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4 helps organizations address the human element of security by raising awareness about ransomware, CEO fraud and other social engineering tactics through a new-school approach to awareness training on security. Kevin Mitnick, an internationally recognized cybersecurity specialist and KnowBe4’s Chief Hacking Officer, helped design the KnowBe4 training based on his well-documented social engineering tactics. Tens of thousands of organizations rely on KnowBe4 to mobilize their end users as their last line of defense.

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