Tag

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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Phishing Scams

Phishing Scams: What's Actually Working in 2021

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported $4.2 billion in losses from cybercrime in 2020 — and phishing scams were the number one reported attack type, with 241,342 complaints. That's not a typo. Nearly a quarter of a million people filed formal complaints about phishing

Carl B. Johnson Jul 13, 2021 7 min read
Is It Legit

Removed App: Is It Legit or a Security Risk?

When "Removed" Shows Up, Your Instincts Are Right to Question It Last month, I received three separate emails from readers asking the same question: they'd encountered an app, service, or website branded as "Removed" and wanted to know — removed is it legit? The fact

Carl B. Johnson Jul 13, 2021 7 min read
Phishing

Define Phishing: What It Really Looks Like in 2021

In March 2021, a single phishing email led to the compromise of over 30,000 U.S. organizations through the Microsoft Exchange Server vulnerabilities. The attackers didn't need a sophisticated zero-day to get their initial foothold — they needed someone to click. If you're trying to define

Carl B. Johnson Jul 01, 2021 7 min read
Computer Virus Prevention

Computer Virus Prevention: 9 Steps That Actually Work

In May 2021, a single compromised password shut down Colonial Pipeline — the largest fuel pipeline in the United States. Gasoline shortages spread across the Southeast. The company paid a $4.4 million ransom in Bitcoin. The root cause wasn't some exotic zero-day exploit. It was a legacy VPN

Carl B. Johnson Jul 01, 2021 7 min read
Security of Cyberspace

Security of Cyberspace: What Actually Works in 2021

The Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack in May 2021 shut down fuel delivery across the U.S. East Coast for nearly a week. Gas stations ran dry. Panic buying erupted. A single compromised password — reportedly linked to an inactive VPN account without multi-factor authentication — brought critical infrastructure to its knees. If

Carl B. Johnson Jun 03, 2021 6 min read
IT Security

IT Security in 2021: What Most Organizations Get Wrong

Colonial Pipeline. SolarWinds. Microsoft Exchange. We're barely halfway through 2021 and the breach headlines are relentless. But here's what frustrates me most: the majority of these incidents didn't exploit exotic zero-day vulnerabilities. They exploited basic IT security gaps that organizations have known about for

Carl B. Johnson Jun 01, 2021 7 min read
Computer Security Security

Computer Security Security: Layers That Actually Work

The Colonial Pipeline Just Proved Your Security Needs Security On May 7, 2021, a single compromised password shut down 5,500 miles of fuel pipeline. Colonial Pipeline paid a $4.4 million ransom within hours. The attack didn't exploit some exotic zero-day. It walked through a legacy VPN

Carl B. Johnson Jun 01, 2021 6 min read
Computer Security Companies

Computer Security Companies: What They Won't Tell You

Colonial Pipeline just paid $4.4 million in ransom to a criminal group called DarkSide — and they had a security vendor. SolarWinds, a company that literally sold security monitoring tools, became the vector for one of the most devastating supply chain attacks in history. If massive organizations with million-dollar security

Carl B. Johnson Jun 01, 2021 6 min read
Computer Virus Prevention

Computer Virus Prevention: 9 Steps That Actually Work

The Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack this month shut down fuel distribution across the eastern United States. A single compromised password led to one of the most disruptive cyberattacks in American history. If you think knowing how to computer virus prevent strategies is just IT housekeeping, that pipeline — and the gas

Carl B. Johnson May 29, 2021 6 min read
Computer Security Service

Computer Security Service: What Actually Works in 2021

Colonial Pipeline Just Showed Us What Happens Without a Real Computer Security Service On May 7, 2021, a single compromised password shut down the largest fuel pipeline in the United States. Colonial Pipeline went dark. Gas stations across the Southeast ran dry. The company paid a $4.4 million ransom

Carl B. Johnson May 18, 2021 7 min read