In-depth coverage of data breach causes, consequences, and prevention tactics. These posts examine real-world breach incidents, regulatory requirements for breach notification, steps to contain and recover from breaches, and proactive measures organizations can take to reduce exposure.
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Last year, a hospital administrator told me she ignored an alert about a credential stuffing attack because she didn't know what that phrase meant. Three days later, her organization was dealing with a ransomware incident that shut down patient scheduling for two weeks. The jargon gap in cybersecurity
The Colonial Pipeline Attack Changed Everything In May 2021, a single compromised password led to the most disruptive cyberattack on U.S. critical infrastructure in history. DarkSide ransomware shut down Colonial Pipeline's 5,500-mile fuel system, triggering gas shortages across the eastern seaboard. The company paid a $4.
Your Old AIM Email Account Is a Ticking Time Bomb In December 2017, AOL officially shut down AIM — AOL Instant Messenger — after two decades of dominance. But here's the thing most people forget: the AIM email addresses tied to those accounts didn't just vanish. Millions of
2021's Phishing Landscape Is Unlike Anything We've Seen Before In March, Microsoft reported that a massive phishing campaign had targeted over 10,000 organizations since January 2021, using sophisticated OAuth token theft to bypass multi-factor authentication. That single campaign should have been a wake-up call. Instead,
Colonial Pipeline Just Gave Us a Real-World Cyber Security Definition On May 7, 2021, a single compromised password shut down the largest fuel pipeline in the United States. Colonial Pipeline halted operations after a ransomware attack attributed to the DarkSide group, triggering fuel shortages across the Southeast. If you want
In July 2020, a 17-year-old from Florida convinced Twitter employees to hand over internal credentials. Within hours, the accounts of Barack Obama, Elon Musk, Joe Biden, and Apple were all posting Bitcoin scam messages. The attacker didn't exploit a software vulnerability. He exploited people. These social engineering examples
In February 2021, Kia Motors America was hit with a ransomware attack reportedly demanding $20 million in Bitcoin. Customers couldn't access dealer portals. Internal systems went dark. The company spent days scrambling to restore operations. This wasn't an isolated event — it was the latest in a
The Colonial Pipeline Wasn't the Wake-Up Call — Your Last Backup Test Was In February 2021, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued renewed guidance on ransomware after a string of attacks against hospitals, schools, and local governments. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that
In July 2020, Twitter disclosed that attackers had compromised 130 high-profile accounts — including those of Barack Obama, Elon Musk, and Apple — through a social engineering attack targeting employees with access to internal tools. The breach didn't involve some exotic zero-day exploit. It started with phone calls to Twitter
In July 2020, Garmin went dark. Their fitness trackers, aviation navigation tools, and customer support systems all went offline simultaneously. A ransomware attack attributed to the WastedLocker strain reportedly crippled the company for days. If you're wondering how to respond to a cyberattack, Garmin's very public
