Tag

Email Security

Comprehensive guides on protecting email accounts and infrastructure from cyber threats. Covers email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, encryption best practices, spam filtering, and organizational policies that reduce the risk of email-based attacks.

posts

Spear Phishing

Spear Phishing: Why Targeted Attacks Beat Your Defenses

In 2023, MGM Resorts lost an estimated $100 million after a threat actor called Scattered Spider used a spear phishing phone call to trick a help desk employee into resetting credentials. One call. One employee. One hundred million dollars. That's not a bulk spam campaign — that's

Carl B. Johnson Feb 23, 2020 7 min read
AI Phishing Attacks

FBI Warns Gmail Users of AI-Driven Phishing Attacks

When the FBI Tells You to Pay Attention, Pay Attention In late 2024, the FBI issued a stark public service announcement warning that threat actors are leveraging generative AI to craft highly convincing phishing campaigns — and Gmail's 1.8 billion users sit squarely in the crosshairs. The FBI

Carl B. Johnson Feb 23, 2020 7 min read
Phishing Email

Phishing Email Attacks: How to Spot and Stop Them

One Phishing Email Cost This Company $100 Million In 2019, a Lithuanian man named Evaldas Rimasauskas pleaded guilty to stealing over $100 million from Google and Facebook using nothing more than fraudulent invoices and carefully crafted phishing emails. He impersonated a legitimate hardware vendor, sent fake invoices to accounts payable

Carl B. Johnson Feb 16, 2020 7 min read
Phishing

Phishing Attacks in 2026: How to Spot and Stop Them

In 2024, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported that phishing was the most frequently reported cybercrime — again. Over 193,000 complaints were filed for phishing alone, and the real number is far higher since most incidents go unreported. I've spent years watching organizations get

Carl B. Johnson Feb 16, 2020 6 min read
Fake Mail

Fake Mail: How to Spot It Before It Costs You

The Fake Mail That Drained $37 Million In 2024, Toyota Boshoku Corporation disclosed a business email compromise attack where a threat actor used fake mail to trick a finance executive into wiring approximately $37 million to a fraudulent bank account. The email looked legitimate. The sender address was nearly identical

Carl B. Johnson Feb 16, 2020 6 min read
Phishing Scams

What Is a Phishing Scam? A Security Pro's Real Guide

The $4.88 Million Email That Looked Completely Normal In 2024, IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report pegged the average breach cost at $4.88 million — a record high. And phishing remained the most common initial attack vector. I've investigated dozens of these incidents firsthand,

Carl B. Johnson Feb 16, 2020 6 min read
Phishing Emails

How to Spot Phishing Emails Before They Cost You

In March 2024, a finance director at a mid-size manufacturer in Ohio received an email from what appeared to be the company CEO. The message asked for an urgent wire transfer to close a confidential acquisition. The email looked flawless — correct logo, matching font, even a convincing signature block. She

Carl B. Johnson Feb 16, 2020 7 min read
Phish Food

Phish Food: What Threat Actors Serve Your Employees

Your Inbox Is a Buffet — And Threat Actors Are Cooking In March 2023, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that phishing was the number one crime type by victim count for the fifth year running, with over 298,000 complaints in a single year. Every one of

Carl B. Johnson Feb 16, 2020 7 min read
Phishing Attacks

What Is a Phishing Attack? A Real-World Breakdown

In 2023, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received over 298,000 complaints about phishing — making it the most reported cybercrime category for the fifth year running. That's not a number on a slide deck. That's hundreds of thousands of real organizations bleeding money,

Carl B. Johnson Feb 16, 2020 7 min read