Discover resources and strategies for building effective security awareness training programs. Posts cover curriculum design, engagement techniques, compliance requirements, and methods for measuring training impact to reduce human-related security incidents across organizations.
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The Personal Phone That Took Down a Hospital Network In 2023, a nurse at a regional hospital plugged her personal phone into a workstation USB port to charge it. That phone carried malware picked up from a third-party app store. Within 72 hours, ransomware had encrypted patient records across three
In March 2024, a finance director at a mid-size logistics company received a text message that appeared to come from the CEO. It asked for a quick wire transfer to close a vendor deal. The director tapped the link, entered credentials on what looked like the company's banking
In January 2024, a penetration tester hired by the Iowa State Court Administration was arrested for breaking into a courthouse — even though he had a signed contract to test physical security. The incident made national news and sparked a legal battle. But it also exposed something most organizations ignore: the
A Badge Swipe, a Smile, and a Six-Figure Data Breach In 2019, a penetration tester hired by Coalfire walked into a locked Iowa courthouse after hours — simply by following someone through a door. He and his partner were arrested, but the point was proven: physical security is often the weakest
In 2023, a Ponemon Institute study sponsored by 3M found that 91% of visual hacking attempts — someone simply looking at a screen — were successful. No malware. No zero-day exploit. No phishing email. Just a person standing in the right place at the right time, reading credentials off someone else'
The Breach That Started With a Single Slack Message In September 2022, a threat actor convinced a Uber contractor to approve a multi-factor authentication push notification. That single moment of human failure gave the attacker access to Uber's internal systems, including their Slack workspace, vulnerability reports, and financial
In 2023, MGM Resorts lost an estimated $100 million after a threat actor called Scattered Spider social-engineered their way past the help desk with a single phone call. The attacker didn't exploit a zero-day vulnerability. They didn't write custom malware. They called an employee, pretended to
In 2024, IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report pegged the global average breach cost at $4.88 million — the highest ever recorded. That same report found that organizations with security awareness training programs saved an average of $258,629 per breach compared to those without. Yet when
In 2023, MGM Resorts lost an estimated $100 million after a threat actor social-engineered the company's IT help desk with a single phone call. The attackers didn't exploit a zero-day vulnerability. They exploited a person. That incident should make every security leader ask a blunt question:
A $4.88 Million Problem With a Training-Shaped Solution IBM's 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report pegged the global average breach cost at $4.88 million — the highest figure ever recorded. Meanwhile, the average investment in security awareness training per employee sits somewhere between $15 and $50
