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Multi-Factor Authentication

Posts tagged with multi-factor authentication explain how layered identity verification strengthens access security. Coverage includes MFA implementation strategies, authenticator app comparisons, hardware token options, and best practices for deploying MFA across enterprise environments.

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Cybersecurity Tips for Small Business

Cybersecurity Tips for Small Business: A 2021 Guide

In 2020, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received 791,790 complaints — a 69% increase over 2019 — with reported losses exceeding $4.2 billion. Small businesses absorbed a disproportionate share of that damage. The Verizon 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report found that 28% of data breaches involved small

Carl B. Johnson Apr 02, 2021 7 min read
Password Security

Password Security Best Practices That Actually Work

The Breach That Started With a Single Reused Password In December 2020, the SolarWinds breach dominated every security headline on the planet. But while the world fixated on nation-state threat actors and supply chain attacks, I kept thinking about a detail that emerged early: a SolarWinds intern had reportedly set

Carl B. Johnson Jan 14, 2021 7 min read
Strong Passwords

How to Create a Strong Password: A Practical Guide

In the 2020 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, over 80% of hacking-related breaches involved stolen or brute-forced credentials. Not sophisticated zero-day exploits. Not nation-state malware. Passwords. The single thing most people treat as an afterthought is the single thing that gets most organizations compromised. Knowing how to create a strong

Carl B. Johnson Jan 14, 2021 7 min read
Password Manager Benefits

Password Manager Benefits: Why Pros Won't Work Without One

The Breach That Started With a Sticky Note In 2020, a senior employee at a Florida water treatment facility reportedly reused passwords across multiple systems — including the one controlling sodium hydroxide levels in the public water supply. That incident, disclosed in early February 2021, showed exactly how a single weak

Carl B. Johnson Jan 14, 2021 6 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
Password Manager

Why Use a Password Manager: A Security Pro's Take

In December 2020, SolarWinds disclosed one of the most devastating supply chain compromises in history. But buried in the early reporting was a detail that made every security professional wince: a critical password — "solarwinds123" — had been publicly accessible on GitHub. One weak, reused, laughably simple password contributed to

Carl B. Johnson Jan 03, 2021 6 min read
Password Hygiene Tips

Password Hygiene Tips That Actually Stop Breaches

In December 2020, SolarWinds disclosed a supply chain compromise that shook the entire cybersecurity industry. But while the world was focused on nation-state threat actors, Verizon's 2020 Data Breach Investigations Report had already confirmed something far more common and just as devastating: over 80% of hacking-related breaches involved

Carl B. Johnson Jan 03, 2021 7 min read
Strong Password Examples

Strong Password Examples That Actually Stop Hackers

The Breach That Started With "Password123" In 2020, the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report confirmed what security professionals already suspected: over 80% of hacking-related breaches involved brute force or the use of lost or stolen credentials. That's not a typo. Four out of five breaches trace

Carl B. Johnson Dec 20, 2020 7 min read
Zero Trust Security Model

Zero Trust Security Model: Why Perimeter Defense Is Dead

In July 2020, Twitter disclosed that attackers had compromised 130 high-profile accounts — including Barack Obama, Elon Musk, and Apple — by socially engineering their way past internal employees. The attackers didn't breach a firewall. They didn't exploit a zero-day vulnerability. They simply convinced insiders to hand over

Carl B. Johnson Dec 12, 2020 7 min read