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Data Breach Prevention

Explores strategies and best practices for preventing data breaches in organizations of all sizes. Covers topics like access controls, encryption, network monitoring, incident response planning, and employee awareness to help reduce the risk of unauthorized data exposure.

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Computer Security

Computer Security: What Actually Works in 2024

In February 2024, Change Healthcare — one of the largest health technology companies in the U.S. — got hit with a ransomware attack that disrupted pharmacies, hospitals, and insurance claims processing across the entire country. UnitedHealth Group confirmed the breach affected a substantial portion of the American population. The attack vector?

Carl B. Johnson Jul 10, 2024 7 min read
Cyber Security

Cyber Security in 2024: What Actually Stops Breaches

The Breach That Changed How I Think About Cyber Security In January 2024, Microsoft disclosed that Russian threat actor Midnight Blizzard had been lurking inside their corporate email systems since November 2023. Not a small startup. Not a company that skimps on security budgets. Microsoft. If their cyber security defenses

Carl B. Johnson May 13, 2024 7 min read
Cyber Security Definition

Cyber Security Definition: What It Actually Means in 2024

In March 2024, a Change Healthcare breach exposed the protected health information of tens of millions of Americans and disrupted pharmacy operations nationwide. A single set of stolen credentials — no multi-factor authentication in place — gave a threat actor the keys to one of the largest healthcare payment processors in the

Carl B. Johnson May 13, 2024 6 min read
Cybersecurity Definition

Cybersecurity Definition: What It Really Means in 2024

In March 2024, a ransomware attack on Change Healthcare — one of the largest health payment processors in the U.S. — disrupted claims processing for pharmacies and hospitals nationwide. Patients couldn't fill prescriptions. Providers couldn't get paid. A single breach paralyzed a massive chunk of American healthcare

Carl B. Johnson May 13, 2024 7 min read
Cloud Computing Security

Cloud Computing Security: 7 Mistakes That Cause Breaches

In January 2024, Microsoft disclosed that a Russian threat actor group known as Midnight Blizzard had breached its corporate email systems — not through some exotic zero-day exploit, but through a password spray attack on a legacy test account that lacked multi-factor authentication. If Microsoft, a company that literally sells cloud

Carl B. Johnson May 13, 2024 7 min read
Define Cyber

Define Cyber: What Security Pros Actually Mean

The Word Everyone Uses But Few Can Explain In March 2024, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) released its 2023 annual report showing $12.5 billion in reported cybercrime losses — a 22% jump from the year before. Politicians, news anchors, and boardroom executives all toss around the

Carl B. Johnson May 04, 2024 6 min read
NIST Standards

NIST Standards: What Actually Matters for Your Security

In February 2024, NIST released version 2.0 of its Cybersecurity Framework — the biggest overhaul in a decade. Within weeks, I watched organizations scramble to figure out what changed and what they needed to do about it. Most of them were still struggling to implement version 1.1. Here'

Carl B. Johnson May 03, 2024 7 min read
Phishing Training for Employees

Phishing Training for Employees: A Practical Guide

In March 2024, a finance employee at a multinational firm in Hong Kong wired $25.6 million to threat actors after a deepfake video call convinced him his CFO had authorized the transfer. One employee. One convincing lure. Twenty-five million dollars gone. That's not a hypothetical — it'

Carl B. Johnson May 03, 2024 7 min read
Phishing Prevention Tips

Phishing Prevention Tips That Actually Stop Breaches

In January 2024, a finance employee at a multinational firm in Hong Kong wired $25 million to threat actors after a deepfake video call convinced him his CFO had authorized the transfer. It started with a phishing email. Every catastrophic breach I've investigated over the past decade traces

Carl B. Johnson May 02, 2024 7 min read