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 Breach That Started With a Single Reused Password In September 2023, MGM Resorts International lost an estimated $100 million after a threat actor social-engineered their way into systems — and weak credential hygiene played a central role. That incident didn't start with a sophisticated zero-day exploit. It started
In September 2023, a credential stuffing attack against 23andMe exposed the personal data of nearly 7 million users. The root cause wasn't some exotic zero-day exploit. It was reused, weak passwords. Attackers took credentials leaked from other breaches, tried them on 23andMe accounts, and walked right in. That&
The Breach That Started With "Company123!" In September 2023, MGM Resorts lost an estimated $100 million after a threat actor used social engineering to compromise employee credentials. The attack didn't require some sophisticated zero-day exploit. It started with identity — with passwords and people. And it'
In September 2023, MGM Resorts lost an estimated $100 million after a threat actor social-engineered a help desk employee into resetting credentials — for an account that lacked robust secondary verification. One phone call. One bypassed identity check. Nine-figure damage. If you've ever wondered what is multi-factor authentication and
The Password That Cost One Company $4.4 Billion In 2017, Equifax suffered a breach that exposed 147 million records and eventually cost the company over $4 billion in total losses and settlements. One of the contributing factors? Weak internal credential management. The admin username and password for a critical
A Single Stolen Password Cost One Company $4.4 Million In May 2021, a threat actor used a single compromised password to shut down Colonial Pipeline — the largest fuel pipeline in the United States. The company paid a $4.4 million ransom. Gas stations across the southeastern U.S. ran
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&
Two Employees, Two Paths to a Breach In May 2023, Tesla disclosed that two former employees had leaked the personal data of over 75,000 workers — including Social Security numbers and financial records — to a German news outlet. That wasn't a sophisticated nation-state hack. It was insiders walking
In January 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice charged a former Twitter employee with spying for Saudi Arabia — accessing the personal data of dissidents and handing it to foreign intelligence. He'd worked at the company for years. Passed background checks. Sat in meetings. Nobody flagged a thing
