Computer Security News and Insights
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
The Framework 87% of Organizations Reference — But Most Implement Poorly When Change Healthcare suffered its catastrophic ransomware attack in early 2024 — ultimately affecting an estimated 100 million individuals — the post-incident analysis pointed to failures that the NIST Cybersecurity Framework was specifically designed to prevent. Missing multi-factor authentication on a critical
In January 2024, CISA itself disclosed that a threat actor had exploited vulnerabilities in Ivanti products to breach two of its own systems. Let that sink in. The federal agency responsible for setting cybersecurity standards for the entire nation got hit. If that doesn't convince you that simply
The FTC Just Fined a Company $1.5 Million — Here's What They Missed In 2023, the FTC finalized its order against Chegg, Inc. for repeated data breaches that exposed personal information of roughly 40 million customers and employees. The company's failures weren't exotic. They
In 2024, the average cost of a data breach in the financial sector hit $6.08 million — the second-highest of any industry, trailing only healthcare. That number comes straight from IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report. I've spent years working with banks, credit unions, and
Why Threat Actors Treat Law Firms Like ATMs In 2023, the international law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner disclosed a breach that exposed the personal data of over 51,000 individuals — including clients of major corporations like Mondelēz. That same year, an Am Law 100 firm paid a multimillion-dollar ransom
