Carl B. Johnson
Author

Carl B. Johnson

vCISO and compliance expert.

https://carlbjohnson.com

posts

NIST Standards

NIST Standards: A Practical Guide to Real Security

In March 2022, the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report team released preliminary findings showing that 82% of breaches involved the human element — phishing, stolen credentials, and social engineering. Meanwhile, most organizations I work with still treat NIST standards like a dusty compliance checkbox rather than what they actually are: a

Carl B. Johnson Jun 20, 2022 7 min read
Security in Cloud Computing

Security in Cloud Computing: What Actually Goes Wrong

In April 2022, researchers at Wiz discovered that Microsoft Azure's PostgreSQL Flexible Server had vulnerabilities allowing cross-account database access. They called it ExtraReplica, and it affected thousands of Azure databases. This wasn't a theoretical exercise — it was a real demonstration that security in cloud computing remains

Carl B. Johnson May 26, 2022 7 min read
Phishing Emails

How Phishing Emails Work: The Psychology Behind the Click

A Single Email Cost This Company $121 Million In 2019, a Lithuanian man was sentenced to five years in prison for phishing Google and Facebook out of over $121 million. His method wasn't a zero-day exploit or cutting-edge malware. It was emails. Carefully crafted, psychologically precise emails that

Carl B. Johnson May 26, 2022 7 min read
Phishing Awareness Training

Phishing Awareness Training: Why 82% of Breaches Start Here

The 2022 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report landed last month, and one number should keep every business owner awake at night: 82% of breaches involved the human element. Phishing, stolen credentials, pretexting, human error — threat actors aren't picking locks. They're asking your employees to hold the

Carl B. Johnson May 26, 2022 7 min read
Phishing Email

How to Recognize a Phishing Email Before You Click

In March 2022, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that phishing schemes were the most complained-about cybercrime in 2021, with over 323,000 victims — more than double the number from just two years prior. That stat doesn't surprise me. What surprises me is how many

Carl B. Johnson May 25, 2022 7 min read
Phishing Attack Examples

Phishing Attack Examples: 7 Real Breaches That Cost Millions

In March 2022, Okta confirmed that the Lapsus$ threat actor group had compromised a support engineer's account — and the initial access vector was social engineering. One employee, one credential, and suddenly a company trusted by thousands of organizations was in the headlines. If you think phishing only targets

Carl B. Johnson May 25, 2022 7 min read
Phishing

What Is Phishing? A Security Pro's Field Guide

In March 2022, Okta confirmed that the Lapsus$ threat actor group had compromised a support engineer's laptop — and the initial access vector was social engineering. A single employee interaction opened the door to a breach that rattled hundreds of downstream customers. If you're asking what is

Carl B. Johnson May 25, 2022 7 min read
Spear Phishing vs Phishing

Spear Phishing vs Phishing: What Actually Gets People

In March 2022, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that business email compromise — a form of spear phishing — caused $2.4 billion in adjusted losses in 2021 alone. That dwarfs every other cybercrime category. Meanwhile, broad phishing campaigns still top the list as the most common attack

Carl B. Johnson May 25, 2022 7 min read
Phishing Simulation Training

Phishing Simulation Training: Why 90% of Breaches Start Here

A Single Click Cost One County $1.3 Million In March 2022, Bernalillo County, New Mexico was still recovering from a ransomware attack that started with what investigators believe was a phishing email. The county had to close government buildings, delay jail proceedings, and shut down key services. The remediation

Carl B. Johnson May 25, 2022 7 min read