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Incident Response

Explores the strategies, frameworks, and best practices organizations use to detect, contain, and recover from cybersecurity incidents. Articles cover team roles, communication protocols, forensic analysis, and lessons learned from real-world security breaches.

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Ransomware Attack Prevention

Ransomware Attack Prevention: A Practical Guide for 2024

In January 2024, Fulton County, Georgia — home to Atlanta — was crippled by a ransomware attack that knocked court systems offline, disrupted tax processing, and left residents unable to access basic government services for weeks. It wasn't an isolated event. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)

Carl B. Johnson Feb 28, 2024 8 min read
Ransomware

What Is Ransomware? A Security Pro's Blunt Guide

In September 2023, MGM Resorts watched its slot machines go dark, hotel room keys stop working, and reservation systems crash — all because a threat actor social-engineered the company's help desk with a ten-minute phone call. The attackers deployed ransomware that cost MGM an estimated $100 million in lost

Carl B. Johnson Feb 28, 2024 6 min read
Ransomware Prevention

How to Prevent Ransomware: A Practical Defense Guide

The $1.1 Billion Year That Changed Everything In 2023, ransomware payments topped $1.1 billion globally, according to Chainalysis research. That's more than double the previous year. If you're reading this wondering how to prevent ransomware, understand this first: threat actors aren't slowing

Carl B. Johnson Feb 09, 2024 7 min read
Ransomware Recovery

Ransomware Recovery Steps: A Battle-Tested Playbook

The Phone Call No One Wants to Get at 3 AM I got the call on a Tuesday morning. A mid-sized logistics company had every file server locked with a .lockbit extension. Their dispatchers couldn't route a single truck. Their accounting team was staring at ransom notes instead

Carl B. Johnson Feb 09, 2024 7 min read
Ransomware

How Ransomware Spreads: 7 Paths Into Your Network

In September 2023, MGM Resorts lost an estimated $100 million after a social engineering phone call — just one phone call — gave threat actors the foothold they needed to deploy ransomware across the company's entire infrastructure. Slot machines went dark. Hotel key cards stopped working. Reservation systems collapsed. All

Carl B. Johnson Feb 09, 2024 7 min read
Data Breach Response Plan

Data Breach Response Plan: What Actually Works in 2024

When MGM Resorts got hit in September 2023, the chaos lasted ten days. Hotel room keys stopped working. Slot machines went dark. Reservation systems crashed. The estimated cost topped $100 million. And here's the part that stings — the initial compromise reportedly started with a social engineering call to

Carl B. Johnson Jan 22, 2024 8 min read
Data Breach Reporting

How to Report a Data Breach: A Step-by-Step Guide

In September 2023, MGM Resorts lost an estimated $100 million after a social engineering attack compromised its systems. But the financial damage from the breach itself was only part of the story. The chaos that followed — delayed notifications, regulatory scrutiny, class-action lawsuits — showed exactly what happens when an organization fumbles

Carl B. Johnson Jan 22, 2024 7 min read
Data Breach Notification

Data Breach Notification Requirements: A 2024 Guide

In May 2023, the FTC finalized a revised Health Breach Notification Rule that expanded who must report breaches — and shortened the clock to do it. Most organizations I talk to had no idea the change happened. They found out the hard way: staring down a regulatory inquiry with no incident

Carl B. Johnson Jan 22, 2024 8 min read
Incident Response Plan Template

Incident Response Plan Template: Build Yours Today

In September 2023, MGM Resorts watched helplessly as a social engineering attack — reportedly initiated through a phone call to their help desk — cascaded into a full-blown operational shutdown. Slot machines went dark. Hotel room keys stopped working. The estimated cost exceeded $100 million. MGM had cybersecurity tools. What they lacked

Carl B. Johnson Dec 11, 2023 7 min read
Incident Response

How to Respond to a Cyberattack: A Step-by-Step Guide

In September 2023, MGM Resorts International watched helplessly as a single social engineering phone call spiraled into a cyberattack that cost the company over $100 million. Slot machines went dark. Hotel room keys stopped working. Reservations collapsed. And it all started because a threat actor called the help desk and

Carl B. Johnson Dec 11, 2023 7 min read