Learn how phishing simulations help organizations measure employee susceptibility to email-based attacks. Articles cover simulation design, realistic phishing templates, campaign scheduling, result analysis, and strategies for turning simulation data into stronger security behaviors.
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MGM Resorts lost an estimated $100 million in September 2023 because a threat actor called an IT help desk, impersonated an employee, and talked their way into a privileged account. No zero-day exploit. No nation-state malware. Just a phone call and a human who hadn't been trained to
In January 2024, Microsoft disclosed that the Russian threat actor group Midnight Blizzard had breached corporate email accounts — not through some exotic zero-day exploit, but through a password spray attack on a legacy test account that lacked multi-factor authentication. One of the most well-resourced technology companies on the planet got
The Threat That Already Has a Badge and a Password In January 2023, the FBI arrested a former GE employee and a collaborator for stealing trade secrets related to turbine technology — a scheme that had been running for years. The insider had legitimate access the entire time. No firewall stopped
In January 2023, a former Tesla employee leaked the personal information of over 75,000 people — names, Social Security numbers, financial records — to a foreign news outlet. Tesla confirmed the breach wasn't caused by a sophisticated threat actor or a zero-day exploit. It was an insider. If you&
The Industry That Gets Hit Hardest — and Most Often In January 2023, ION Trading Technologies — a critical software vendor serving derivatives traders worldwide — got hit with a LockBit ransomware attack that forced dozens of financial institutions back to manual trade processing. For days. In one of the most automated industries
When MGM Resorts got hit with a devastating social engineering attack in September 2023, it wasn't a firewall failure. It wasn't a zero-day exploit. A threat actor called the help desk, impersonated an employee, and walked right through the front door. The estimated cost? Over $100
In 2022, Medibank — one of Australia's largest health insurers — suffered a breach that exposed 9.7 million customer records. The root cause? Compromised credentials. A single employee's stolen login led to one of the most damaging data breaches in Australian history. Medibank had security awareness training
A 45-Minute Slide Deck Didn't Stop the Breach at MGM In September 2023, a threat actor social-engineered their way into MGM Resorts' systems with a single phone call. The attackers reportedly found an employee on LinkedIn, called the help desk, and convinced someone to reset credentials. The
A $2.6 Million Invoice Nobody Budgeted For In March 2023, the city of Oakland, California declared a state of emergency after a ransomware attack crippled city services for weeks. Systems went offline. Sensitive employee data leaked onto the dark web. The estimated recovery cost? Millions. And the initial entry
In October 2022, a Medibank employee's credentials were stolen through a single compromised login — no multi-factor authentication in place. The breach exposed the personal health data of 9.7 million Australians and became one of the most damaging incidents of the year. The attack didn't start
