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Is It Legit

Removed App: Is It Legit or a Security Risk?

Every week, I get emails from readers asking the same type of question: "I found this app called Removed — is it legit?" Sometimes it's Removed, sometimes it's another obscure app that popped up in a search result, an ad, or a text message from

Carl B. Johnson Aug 23, 2022 7 min read
Spear Phishing

What Is Spear Phishing? The Targeted Attack Behind Big Breaches

In March 2022, the FBI warned that business email compromise — a category dominated by spear phishing — cost victims over $2.4 billion in 2021 alone, making it the most financially damaging cybercrime category in the FBI IC3 Annual Report. That number dwarfs ransomware losses. So what is spear phishing, exactly,

Carl B. Johnson Aug 23, 2022 8 min read
Phishing

Define Phishing: What It Really Looks Like in 2022

In March 2022, threat actors used a single phishing email to breach Okta through a third-party contractor — potentially impacting hundreds of enterprise customers downstream. The attack didn't exploit some exotic zero-day. It exploited a human being who clicked a link. If you're here to define phishing,

Carl B. Johnson Aug 23, 2022 6 min read
Fake Identity Website

Fake Identity Website Threats: How Criminals Steal Data

That Login Page Isn't Real — And Your Employees Can't Tell In March 2022, the FBI warned that cybercriminals were registering domains impersonating well-known businesses at an alarming rate. The scam is straightforward: build a fake identity website that mirrors a legitimate login page, blast phishing emails

Carl B. Johnson Aug 23, 2022 7 min read
Computer Virus Prevention

Computer Virus Prevention: 9 Steps That Actually Work

In January 2022, a single employee at a European oil storage company opened what looked like a routine invoice. Within hours, the BlackCat ransomware had encrypted critical systems across multiple terminals, disrupting fuel distribution for days. The virus didn't exploit some exotic zero-day vulnerability. It walked through the

Carl B. Johnson Aug 23, 2022 6 min read
Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity in 2022: What Actually Works Now

The Breach That Should Have Changed Everything In March 2022, the Lapsus$ group breached Okta, Microsoft, Samsung, and Nvidia in rapid succession — not by deploying sophisticated zero-day exploits, but by buying stolen credentials, social engineering help desk employees, and exploiting MFA fatigue. A group reportedly led by teenagers embarrassed some

Carl B. Johnson Aug 23, 2022 7 min read
cyber security

Cyber Security in 2022: What's Actually Breaking

In March 2022, Okta confirmed that the Lapsus$ threat actor group had breached a third-party support contractor, potentially affecting hundreds of enterprise customers. A few weeks later, the same group hit Microsoft, Nvidia, and Samsung. These weren't obscure targets — they were companies with massive cyber security budgets, sophisticated

Carl B. Johnson Aug 11, 2022 7 min read
computer security

Computer Security in 2022: What Actually Works Now

In March 2022, Okta confirmed that the Lapsus$ threat actor group had accessed an internal support engineer's laptop, potentially affecting hundreds of downstream customers. A few weeks before that, the same group hit Nvidia, Samsung, and Microsoft. These weren't obscure targets. These were companies with massive

Carl B. Johnson Aug 11, 2022 6 min read
Cybersecurity Tips

Cybersecurity Tips That Actually Stop Breaches in 2022

In March 2022, Okta confirmed that the Lapsus$ threat actor group had accessed an internal support engineer's laptop — and the fallout rippled across the entire identity management industry. The breach didn't start with a sophisticated zero-day exploit. It started with compromised credentials. That single detail tells

Carl B. Johnson Aug 11, 2022 7 min read