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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Your Search for a Phish Setlist Could Land You on a Hacker's Hook Last summer, a colleague of mine — a die-hard Phish fan — searched for a phish setlist from a recent show at Madison Square Garden. He clicked what looked like a legitimate fan site. Within seconds, his
In March 2024, MGM Resorts was still tallying the damage from a social engineering attack that started with a single phone call to their help desk. The total cost exceeded $100 million. The attacker didn't exploit a zero-day vulnerability or crack military-grade encryption. They impersonated an employee found
In March 2024, a finance director at a mid-size manufacturer in Ohio received an email from what appeared to be the company CEO. The message asked for an urgent wire transfer to close a confidential acquisition. The email looked flawless — correct logo, matching font, even a convincing signature block. She
The Email That Cost One Company $121 Million In 2019, a Lithuanian man was sentenced to five years in prison for phishing Google and Facebook out of over $121 million. He sent fake invoices from a spoofed vendor email address. Employees at two of the most technically sophisticated companies on
In March 2024, a finance employee at a UK-based engineering firm wired $25 million to threat actors after a deepfake video call. The attackers had spoofed the company's CFO — but the entire attack chain started with a single phishing email. That first message contained at least four classic
In 2023, MGM Resorts lost an estimated $100 million after a threat actor called the company's IT help desk, impersonated an employee found on LinkedIn, and convinced a technician to reset credentials. The entire breach started with a phone call and a convincing story. That story — the fabricated
The $4.88 Million Lesson Most Organizations Learn Too Late IBM's 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report put the global average breach cost at $4.88 million. The Verizon 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report found that 68% of breaches involved a human element — someone clicked a phishing
One Click Cost This Company $36 Million In 2023, MGM Resorts lost an estimated $100 million after a threat actor socially engineered the company's help desk with a single phone call. The attacker impersonated an employee, convinced an IT worker to reset credentials, and from there pivoted through
The Breach That Started With a Single Click In 2023, MGM Resorts lost an estimated $100 million after a threat actor social-engineered a help desk employee with a ten-minute phone call. The attacker found an employee on LinkedIn, called the IT service desk, and convinced them to reset credentials. That&
In 2023, MGM Resorts lost an estimated $100 million after a threat actor social-engineered a help desk employee with a ten-minute phone call. The attacker didn't exploit a zero-day vulnerability. They didn't write custom malware. They called IT support, impersonated an employee found on LinkedIn, and
