Tag

Identity Security

Content focused on protecting digital identities from compromise, including topics like credential theft prevention, identity governance, privileged access management, and strategies for reducing identity-based attack surfaces across organizations.

posts

Multi-Factor Authentication

Multi-Factor Authentication Setup: A Practical Guide

In March 2024, a threat actor breached a major healthcare provider's network using a single compromised password — no second factor required. The organization had purchased MFA licenses two years prior but never enforced enrollment. That gap cost them months of remediation and exposed the records of over 100,

Carl B. Johnson Aug 30, 2026 5 min read
Multi-Factor Authentication

What Is Multi-Factor Authentication? A Real-World Guide

In 2022, Uber's entire internal network was compromised because a single contractor approved a push notification on their phone. The threat actor had already stolen the contractor's password through social engineering — all they needed was that one tap. That breach exposed internal tools, source code, and

Carl B. Johnson Aug 25, 2026 5 min read
Spoof

Spoof Attacks: How Threat Actors Trick Your Defenses

The CEO Email That Wasn't From the CEO In early 2025, a mid-sized logistics company wired $3.1 million to a bank account in Hong Kong. The CFO had received an email — apparently from the CEO — requesting an urgent wire transfer for a confidential acquisition. The email address

Carl B. Johnson Jan 17, 2026 7 min read
Multi-Factor Authentication

Multi-Factor Authentication Setup: A Practical Guide

The Breach That Started With a Single Stolen Password In January 2024, a threat actor used stolen credentials to access a Snowflake customer environment — no malware, no exploit, just a username and password harvested months earlier. The fallout hit Ticketmaster and AT&T, exposing hundreds of millions of records.

Carl B. Johnson Jun 15, 2025 8 min read
Multi-Factor Authentication

MFA vs Two-Factor Authentication: What Really Matters

In March 2024, a threat actor bypassed a major healthcare provider's two-factor authentication by intercepting SMS codes through a SIM-swapping attack — compromising over 2 million patient records. The organization thought they were protected. They had "MFA" checked off on their compliance audit. But they'd

Carl B. Johnson Jun 15, 2025 7 min read
Multi-Factor Authentication

Multi-Factor Authentication Setup: A Practical Guide

In September 2023, MGM Resorts lost an estimated $100 million after a threat actor bypassed their security by socially engineering a helpdesk employee into resetting MFA credentials. Let that sink in. The company had multi-factor authentication. It still wasn't enough — because the multi-factor authentication setup and the processes

Carl B. Johnson Jan 20, 2024 7 min read
Multi-Factor Authentication

MFA vs Two-Factor Authentication: What Actually Matters

In July 2020, a teenager orchestrated one of the most high-profile breaches in social media history — the Twitter hack that compromised accounts belonging to Barack Obama, Elon Musk, and Apple. The attack vector? Social engineering and credential theft that bypassed weak authentication controls. It was a brutal reminder that passwords

Carl B. Johnson Jan 11, 2021 6 min read
Multi-Factor Authentication

Multi-Factor Authentication Setup: A Practical Guide

In 2023, MGM Resorts lost an estimated $100 million after a threat actor bypassed their security by social engineering the help desk into resetting an employee's credentials — credentials that lacked properly enforced multi-factor authentication at critical junctures. That single phone call cascaded into one of the most expensive

Carl B. Johnson Nov 02, 2019 8 min read