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Security Awareness Training

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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PayPal Phishing Attacks

PayPal Phishing Attacks: How to Spot and Stop Them

In January 2023, PayPal disclosed that threat actors had compromised nearly 35,000 user accounts through credential stuffing — not by breaking PayPal's systems, but by exploiting reused passwords harvested from other breaches. That incident made headlines, but it's the quieter, daily grind of PayPal phishing attacks

Carl B. Johnson Aug 19, 2024 6 min read
Spoofing Caller

Spoofing Caller Attacks: How Criminals Fake Trust

In March 2024, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that Americans lost over $10 billion to cybercrime in 2023 — and a staggering portion of those losses started with a single phone call from a number the victim trusted. A spoofing caller doesn't need to hack

Carl B. Johnson Aug 19, 2024 7 min read
AI Phishing Attacks

Gmail Users Warned About Sophisticated AI-Driven Phishing

In May 2024, a Google security consultant named Sam Mitrovic nearly fell for a phishing call that used a convincing AI-generated voice impersonating Google support. The caller had a legitimate-looking Google phone number, referenced real account activity, and spoke with the polished fluency of a native English speaker. The only

Carl B. Johnson Aug 19, 2024 8 min read
PayPal DocuSign Phishing

PayPal DocuSign Phishing: How This Scam Works

Earlier this year, security researchers documented a surge in phishing campaigns that abuse legitimate DocuSign and PayPal infrastructure to deliver convincing attack emails. The twist? These messages aren't spoofed — they're actually sent through real PayPal and DocuSign servers. That's why PayPal DocuSign phishing attacks

Carl B. Johnson Aug 01, 2024 7 min read
Phishing Attack

Phishing Attack Anatomy: How Breaches Actually Start

In January 2024, a single phishing attack against Framework Computer exposed customer names, emails, and outstanding balances — all because one employee at an external accounting partner clicked a link in a convincing impersonation email. The attacker didn't hack a firewall. They didn't exploit a zero-day vulnerability.

Carl B. Johnson Jul 23, 2024 8 min read
Phishing News

Phishing News 2024: Attacks That Should Scare You

The Phishing Headlines Keep Getting Worse In January 2024, a finance worker at engineering firm Arup wired $25 million to threat actors after a deepfake video call that impersonated the company's CFO. That single incident captures everything terrifying about the current phishing news cycle: attacks are smarter, faster,

Carl B. Johnson Jul 23, 2024 6 min read
Phishing Scams

Phishing Scams: What Actually Works to Stop Them

In January 2024, a finance worker at engineering firm Arup wired $25 million to criminals after joining a video call with what appeared to be the company's CFO and several colleagues. Every person on that call was a deepfake. The attack started with what every phishing scam starts

Carl B. Johnson Jul 23, 2024 8 min read
Spear Phishing

What Is Spear Phishing? The Targeted Attack Behind Major Breaches

In 2023, MGM Resorts lost roughly $100 million after a threat actor called Scattered Spider social-engineered a help desk employee with a single phone call. The attackers had done their homework — they knew the employee's name, role, and enough personal detail to sound legitimate. That's not

Carl B. Johnson Jul 23, 2024 8 min read
Fake Identity Website

Fake Identity Website Threats: How to Spot and Stop Them

The Fake Identity Website That Fooled an Entire HR Department Earlier this year, an HR team at a mid-size logistics company received a job application that checked every box. The resume was polished, the LinkedIn profile looked legitimate, and the applicant's personal website — showcasing a portfolio and professional

Carl B. Johnson Jul 16, 2024 7 min read