Computer Security News and Insights
In 2023, a single compromised password at MGM Resorts helped threat actors trigger a social engineering attack that cost the company over $100 million. The attackers didn't exploit some exotic zero-day vulnerability. They exploited people — and weak credential hygiene handed them the keys. If you've ever
A Single Fraud Ring Stole $75 Million — And Nobody Noticed for Months In 2023, the FBI dismantled a business email compromise (BEC) ring that operated across multiple countries, defrauding companies of tens of millions of dollars. The operation wasn't run by a lone wolf. It was a coordinated
The Coffee Shop Breach That Cost $6.5 Million In 2024, a mid-size financial services firm discovered that a single remote employee working from a hotel lobby had their session token hijacked through a man-in-the-middle attack on the hotel's Wi-Fi. The threat actor used that access to move
A Six-Figure Career You Can Start Without a CS Degree In 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected information security analyst roles would grow 32% through 2032 — roughly six times faster than average. That wasn't hype. The demand has only accelerated. If you've been searching what
The Textbook Got It Wrong In 2023, MGM Resorts lost roughly $100 million after a threat actor social-engineered their IT help desk with a single phone call. The attackers didn't exploit a zero-day vulnerability. They didn't write custom malware. They just talked their way in. If
In 2023, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center flagged Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) as one of the top three initial access vectors used in ransomware incidents. That wasn't a surprise to anyone who's worked an incident response engagement. I've personally investigated breaches
The IRS Never Calls Like That — But the Number Said Otherwise In 2019, the Department of Justice announced the takedown of a massive India-based call center scam that defrauded U.S. victims out of hundreds of millions of dollars. The callers impersonated IRS agents, and their secret weapon was simple:
In 2023, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that business email compromise — a category built almost entirely on the fake email — cost victims over $2.9 billion. That wasn't from sophisticated zero-day exploits. It was from emails that looked real but weren't. I&
The Misconfiguration That Exposed 100 Million Records In 2019, a former cloud engineer exploited a misconfigured web application firewall at Capital One and accessed over 100 million customer records stored in AWS S3 buckets. The breach cost the company over $270 million in settlements and remediation. It wasn't
A Single Email Cost One Hospital Chain $100 Million In 2024, Change Healthcare — a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group — suffered a ransomware attack that disrupted pharmacy operations, insurance claims, and patient care across the United States. The company paid a $22 million ransom. Total damages exceeded $100 million. The initial entry
