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Cybersecurity Awareness

Articles on cybersecurity awareness cover the foundational knowledge individuals and organizations need to recognize and respond to digital threats. Topics include safe browsing habits, password hygiene, social engineering tactics, and building a security-first culture across teams.

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Ransomware

What Is Ransomware? A Practical Defense Guide for 2026

In May 2021, Colonial Pipeline paid a $4.4 million ransom to the DarkSide threat actor group after a single compromised password shut down fuel distribution across the U.S. East Coast. Gas stations ran dry. Panic buying erupted. And one of the most critical infrastructure networks in the country

Carl B. Johnson Nov 30, 2019 7 min read
Ransomware Prevention

How to Prevent Ransomware: A Practical Defense Guide

The Attack That Shut Down 100 Million Prescriptions In February 2024, a ransomware attack on Change Healthcare paralyzed pharmacy operations across the United States. Hospitals couldn't process claims. Patients couldn't fill prescriptions. UnitedHealth Group ultimately disclosed the breach affected roughly 100 million individuals — the largest healthcare

Carl B. Johnson Nov 30, 2019 7 min read
Ransomware Recovery

Ransomware Recovery Steps: A Battle-Tested Playbook

The Attack That Paralyzed a Hospital System for 28 Days In 2024, Ascension Healthcare — one of the largest health systems in the United States — was hit by the Black Basta ransomware group. The attack disrupted operations across 140 hospitals. Clinicians reverted to paper records. Ambulances were diverted. It took nearly

Carl B. Johnson Nov 30, 2019 7 min read
Ransomware Examples 2026

Ransomware Examples 2026: Real Attacks Hitting Now

A single phishing email brought down a regional hospital chain's entire electronic health records system for eleven days in January. The attackers demanded $14 million in cryptocurrency. The hospital paid. That's where we are right now — and if you're searching for ransomware examples 2026,

Carl B. Johnson Nov 30, 2019 7 min read
Ransomware Protection

Ransomware Protection Tips That Actually Work in 2026

A Single Click Cost One Hospital Chain $100 Million In 2024, Change Healthcare — the payment processing backbone for thousands of U.S. healthcare providers — was crippled by a ransomware attack attributed to the ALPHV/BlackCat group. UnitedHealth Group, Change Healthcare's parent company, disclosed that the incident cost over

Carl B. Johnson Nov 26, 2019 7 min read
Data Breach Examples

Data Breach Examples 2026: Lessons from This Year

2026 Has Already Been Brutal for Data Security We're barely halfway through the year, and the data breach examples from 2026 already paint a grim picture. Healthcare systems, school districts, financial platforms, and major retailers have all made headlines — not for innovation, but for failing to protect customer

Carl B. Johnson Nov 26, 2019 6 min read
Strong Passwords

How to Create a Strong Password That Actually Stops Hackers

In 2023, a single reused password gave threat actors access to 23andMe's credential-stuffing attack, exposing the genetic data of nearly 7 million users. The attackers didn't exploit some exotic zero-day vulnerability. They just tried stolen username-password pairs from other breaches — and millions of them worked. If

Carl B. Johnson Nov 26, 2019 6 min read
Password Manager

Why Use a Password Manager: The Case Is Settled

The 24 Billion Stolen Passwords Sitting on the Dark Web Researchers at Digital Shadows found over 24 billion username-and-password combinations circulating on dark web marketplaces. That number keeps climbing. If you're still asking why use a password manager, the stolen credential economy already answered for you — your reused

Carl B. Johnson Nov 02, 2019 6 min read
Strong Passwords

Strong Password Examples That Actually Stop Hackers

The 59-Second Crack That Cost a Hospital Chain Everything In 2023, CommonSpirit Health disclosed a ransomware attack that disrupted operations across more than 140 hospitals. Post-incident analysis pointed to compromised credentials as a key factor. The password in question wasn't "password123" — it was a seemingly reasonable

Carl B. Johnson Nov 02, 2019 7 min read
VPN Best Practices

VPN Best Practices: What Actually Protects You in 2026

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

Carl B. Johnson Sep 28, 2019 7 min read