Winn Schwartau

Ever since Winn Schwartau appeared before Congress in 1991 to enlighten our nation’s leaders on “computer security” — testimony that was featured in newspapers across the country — he has been one of the Infosec community’s most prominent voices. Winn has served as a go-to expert for the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and several other major media organizations. He was named a “Top 5 Security Thinker” by SC Magazine and a “Top 25 Influential” person by Security Magazine.

His contributions since ’91 have been numerous; countless speeches and hundreds of published works, including more than a dozen book releases (his latest, Analogue Network Security, arrived in 2018). Winn has worked closely with a handful of companies in his career, but The Security Awareness Company has had a particularly strong impact. Prior to its sale to KnowBe4 in 2016, SAC had appeared on the Gartner Magic Quadrant as both a “Leader” and “Visionary,” and its eLearning development prowess was a key factor in its acquisition. It is still KnowBe4’s primary content provider, and Winn’s wife (Sherra, senior QA specialist) and daughter (Ashley, COO) have bolstered the Schwartau legacy with their work at SAC.