Computer Security News and Insights
The Breach That Proved Perimeter Security Was Dead In early 2024, a threat actor gained access to Microsoft's corporate email system — including accounts belonging to senior leadership and cybersecurity staff. The attacker didn't exploit some exotic zero-day. They used a password spray attack against a legacy
The Breach That Proved "Trust But Verify" Is Dead In early 2024, a major healthcare provider disclosed that attackers had spent nine months inside their network — moving laterally, escalating privileges, and exfiltrating millions of patient records. Their perimeter defenses were solid. Their VPN was enterprise-grade. None of it
Your Home Office Is Now the Weakest Link In 2023, a single remote employee at MGM Resorts answered a social engineering call that led to a ransomware attack costing the company over $100 million in losses. The attacker didn't breach a firewall. They didn't exploit a
In early 2024, a finance employee at a multinational firm in Hong Kong joined a video call with what appeared to be the company's CFO and several colleagues. Every person on the call was a deepfake. The employee transferred $25.6 million to threat actors before anyone realized
In 2023, a single remote employee at a major casino operator received a phone call from someone claiming to be IT support. That social engineering attack — a vishing call lasting roughly ten minutes — gave threat actors the foothold they needed to deploy ransomware across MGM Resorts' entire network, causing
The Ivanti Breach Changed How I Think About VPNs In early 2024, CISA issued an emergency directive after threat actors exploited vulnerabilities in Ivanti Connect Secure VPN appliances to infiltrate multiple federal agencies. The attackers didn't brute-force passwords. They didn't trick users with phishing emails. They
In 2023, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center flagged Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) as one of the top three initial access vectors for ransomware incidents. That wasn't a surprise to anyone who monitors Shodan — the search engine that indexes internet-facing devices. On any given day, you
In 2023, MGM Resorts lost roughly $100 million after a threat actor social-engineered their way past an IT help desk employee — with a single phone call. The attacker didn't exploit a zero-day vulnerability. They didn't brute-force a password. They just talked their way in. And the
The Policy Gathering Dust in Your Shared Drive In 2023, the city of Dallas was hit by a Royal ransomware attack that crippled municipal services for weeks. Investigators traced the initial access back to a service account and poor access controls — exactly the kind of risk a well-enforced acceptable use
A $1.3 Million Fine for Skipping the Basics In 2023, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services fined Lafourche Medical Group $480,000 for a phishing attack that compromised nearly 35,000 patient records. The root cause wasn't a sophisticated zero-day exploit. It was the
