Tag

Phishing

Explore in-depth articles about phishing attacks, including email phishing, spear phishing, smishing, and vishing. Learn how attackers craft deceptive messages, steal credentials, and compromise systems — and discover proven strategies to detect and block these threats.

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Vishing Scam Awareness

Vishing Scam Awareness: Stop Voice Phishing Cold

In July 2020, a teenager and two accomplices called Twitter employees, posed as IT staff, and convinced them to hand over internal credentials. Within hours, they'd hijacked 130 high-profile accounts — including Barack Obama, Elon Musk, and Apple — and ran a Bitcoin scam that netted over $100,000 in

Carl B. Johnson Apr 21, 2022 7 min read
Pretexting Attacks

Pretexting Attack Examples: Real Scams That Fool Smart People

In 2020, a teenager convinced a Twitter employee he was a co-worker from the IT department. That single phone call led to the compromise of 130 high-profile accounts — including Barack Obama, Elon Musk, and Apple — and a Bitcoin scam that netted over $100,000 in hours. The attack wasn'

Carl B. Johnson Apr 04, 2022 7 min read
Ransomware

What Is Ransomware? A Practical Defense Guide for 2022

In February 2022, Nvidia — one of the largest chip manufacturers on the planet — confirmed it was hit by a ransomware attack. The threat actor group Lapsus$ claimed they stole over a terabyte of proprietary data and began leaking employee credentials and source code. If a company with Nvidia's

Carl B. Johnson Mar 21, 2022 7 min read
Ransomware

How Ransomware Spreads: 6 Attack Vectors You Must Know

In February 2022, the FBI and CISA issued a joint advisory warning that ransomware incidents against 14 of 16 U.S. critical infrastructure sectors had increased dramatically. That advisory wasn't theoretical — it followed real attacks against water treatment facilities, hospitals, and food processors. If you're searching

Carl B. Johnson Mar 18, 2022 7 min read
Data Breach

What Causes a Data Breach: 7 Root Causes Explained

In January 2022, the International Committee of the Red Cross disclosed that a sophisticated cyberattack compromised the personal data of more than 515,000 vulnerable people — including missing persons, detainees, and their families. The breach didn't happen because of some exotic zero-day exploit. It happened because of a

Carl B. Johnson Mar 18, 2022 6 min read
Incident Response

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

In May 2021, Colonial Pipeline paid a $4.4 million ransom after a single compromised password shut down fuel distribution across the U.S. East Coast. The attack didn't just expose a vulnerability in critical infrastructure — it exposed a truth most organizations ignore: the speed and quality of

Carl B. Johnson Feb 10, 2022 7 min read
Cybersecurity Incident Examples

Cybersecurity Incident Examples That Changed Everything

The Breach That Cost a Pipeline Its Entire Operation In May 2021, Colonial Pipeline — the largest fuel pipeline in the United States — shut down completely after a ransomware attack. A single compromised password on a legacy VPN account gave the DarkSide threat actor group everything they needed. The company paid

Carl B. Johnson Jan 18, 2022 6 min read
Cybersecurity Glossary

Cybersecurity Glossary for Beginners: 40 Terms to Know

During the 2020 SolarWinds breach investigation, I watched a boardroom full of executives stare blankly when an incident responder mentioned "lateral movement" and "supply chain compromise." They had no idea what was happening to their own network — not because they were negligent, but because nobody had

Carl B. Johnson Sep 16, 2021 8 min read
Cybersecurity Terms Explained

Cybersecurity Terms Explained: A No-Nonsense Guide

In May 2021, Colonial Pipeline paid a $4.4 million ransom after a single compromised password shut down fuel delivery across the U.S. East Coast. The post-incident reporting was filled with jargon — ransomware, threat actor, credential theft, attack vector — that left most non-technical readers glazing over. Here's

Carl B. Johnson Sep 16, 2021 7 min read