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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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Phishing Definition

Phishing Definition: What It Really Means in 2026

In 2024, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received over 298,000 complaints related to phishing — making it the most reported cybercrime for the fifth consecutive year. Yet when I ask employees in training sessions to give me a phishing definition, most of them describe a Nigerian prince

Carl B. Johnson Jun 23, 2019 6 min read
Phishing

Definition of a Phishing Attack and Why It Works

In 2023, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received over 298,000 phishing complaints — making it the most reported cybercrime category for the fifth consecutive year. I've spent years helping organizations respond to these attacks, and the pattern is always the same: someone clicks a link

Carl B. Johnson Jun 23, 2019 7 min read
Spear Phishing

Spear Phishing: Why Targeted Attacks Bypass Your Defenses

In 2023, MGM Resorts lost roughly $100 million after a threat actor called Scattered Spider used a spear phishing phone call — a single, targeted social engineering attack against an IT help desk employee — to breach one of the largest casino operators on the planet. The attacker found the employee'

Carl B. Johnson Jun 18, 2019 7 min read
AI Phishing Attacks

FBI Warns Gmail Users of AI-Driven Phishing Attacks

The FBI Warns Gmail Users of Sophisticated AI-Driven Phishing Attacks — And Most People Aren't Ready In late 2024, the FBI issued a stark public service announcement: threat actors are using generative AI to craft phishing emails so convincing that even seasoned IT professionals struggle to spot them. The

Carl B. Johnson Jun 12, 2019 7 min read
Gmail Phishing Attacks

Gmail Sophisticated Attacks: FBI Phishing Warnings for 2026

A Developer Nearly Lost Everything to a Fake Google Support Call In early 2025, a widely reported attack targeted Gmail users with a phone call that appeared to come from Google's actual support number. The caller — using AI-generated voice — told the victim their account had been compromised. They

Carl B. Johnson Jun 12, 2019 6 min read
Phishing Email

Phishing Email Tactics in 2026: What Actually Works

Last year, a finance director at a mid-size logistics company wired $1.2 million to a threat actor who sent a single phishing email impersonating the CEO. The email contained no malware, no suspicious attachments, and no misspelled words. It simply asked for an urgent wire transfer, referenced a real

Carl B. Johnson Jun 12, 2019 7 min read
Phishing

Phishing Attacks in 2026: How to Spot and Stop Them

A Single Phishing Email Cost This Company $100 Million In 2024, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that phishing — often misspelled as "phising" — remained the most reported cybercrime category, with hundreds of thousands of complaints filed in a single year. But the raw numbers don&

Carl B. Johnson Jun 12, 2019 7 min read
Vishing

FBI Warning on Vishing and Smishing: What to Do Now

The FBI Warning on Vishing and Smishing You Can't Afford to Ignore In early 2024, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) flagged a sharp escalation in vishing and smishing campaigns targeting businesses and individuals across the United States. The 2023 IC3 Annual Report documented over

Carl B. Johnson Jun 12, 2019 7 min read
Phishing Scams

What Is a Phishing Scam? A Security Pro's Real Guide

The $4.88 Million Email That Looked Completely Normal In 2023, a finance employee at a midsize manufacturing firm received an email from what appeared to be the CEO. It referenced a real acquisition the company was working on. It used the CEO's actual email signature. The employee

Carl B. Johnson Jun 12, 2019 7 min read