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Security Awareness

Develop a strong security mindset with articles focused on security awareness principles, social engineering defense, safe browsing habits, password hygiene, and recognizing manipulation tactics used by attackers targeting human vulnerabilities.

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Board-Level Cybersecurity Awareness

Board-Level Cybersecurity Awareness: A Survival Guide

The SEC Just Made Ignorance Expensive In July 2023, the SEC finalized rules requiring public companies to disclose material cybersecurity incidents within four business days — and to describe their board's oversight of cyber risk annually. That single regulatory move turned board-level cybersecurity awareness from a nice-to-have into a

Carl B. Johnson Sep 07, 2020 6 min read
Cybersecurity Due Diligence

Cybersecurity Due Diligence: What Most Companies Miss

The $350 Million Wake-Up Call Nobody Expected When Verizon acquired Yahoo in 2017, a previously undisclosed breach affecting 3 billion accounts forced the deal price down by $350 million. That single failure of cybersecurity due diligence became the most expensive cautionary tale in M&A history — and it permanently

Carl B. Johnson Jun 25, 2020 7 min read
Cybersecurity Glossary

Cybersecurity Glossary for Beginners: 40+ Terms

When the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack shut down fuel distribution across the U.S. East Coast in 2021, news anchors stumbled over terms like "ransomware," "threat actor," and "zero trust." Millions of people realized they didn't have the vocabulary to understand the

Carl B. Johnson May 11, 2020 8 min read
Cybersecurity Terms Explained

Cybersecurity Terms Explained: A Practical Guide

When the Colonial Pipeline attack shut down fuel distribution across the Eastern United States in 2021, news anchors stumbled over words like "ransomware," "threat actor," and "zero trust." Millions of people realized they didn't speak the language of cybersecurity — and that ignorance

Carl B. Johnson May 08, 2020 7 min read
Adware vs Spyware

Adware vs Spyware: What Security Teams Must Know

In 2023, a seemingly harmless browser extension called "PDF Toolbox" was downloaded over two million times from the Chrome Web Store before researchers at Palant discovered it was quietly injecting tracking code and redirecting ad revenue — a textbook adware operation that crossed hard into spyware territory. That single

Carl B. Johnson May 08, 2020 7 min read
Cross-Site Scripting

Cross-Site Scripting Explained: A Real-World Guide

The Attack That Hides in Plain Sight on Your Website In 2018, British Airways disclosed a breach that compromised the personal and financial data of roughly 380,000 customers. The attack vector? A modified JavaScript injected into the airline's payment page — a textbook cross-site scripting attack that skimmed

Carl B. Johnson Mar 04, 2020 7 min read
Phishing Awareness

How to Spot a Phishing Email: 9 Red Flags to Catch

The Email That Cost One Company $37 Million In 2024, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that business email compromise — a sophisticated form of phishing — accounted for over $2.9 billion in adjusted losses. That's not a typo. Billions. And it all starts with a

Carl B. Johnson Mar 04, 2020 7 min read
Phishing

What Is Phishing? The Attack Behind 80% of Breaches

In 2023, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received over 298,000 phishing complaints — making it the most reported cybercrime for the fifth consecutive year. And those are just the ones people reported. I've spent years helping organizations respond to breaches, and the vast majority start

Carl B. Johnson Mar 04, 2020 7 min read