KnowBe4 Blog

Social Engineering

Latest social engineering news, analysis, tactics the bad guys are using and what you can do to defend your organization.

Over Half of SMBs Experience Phishing and Social Engineering Attacks

The assertion that SMBs aren’t a cyber-target is officially dead. SMBs are victims of the very same attacks as enterprises in growing numbers, according to new research.

Insurers Get Serious About Social Engineering Attacks Citing a Lack of Awareness as the Problem

With specific endorsements to protect against social engineering scams, insurers are realizing where the true risk lies in cyberattacks and make recommendations of how to mitigate it.

Merchant fined for failing to train employees — Former NYDFS Superintendent Vullo Talks About Cybersecurity Regs

Mark Harrop, Director of Communications, Corporates at Thomson Reuters made me aware of a very interesting interview with Maria Vullo, the former Superintendent of New York’s Department ...

Phishing scams on the up in the Netherlands

Mina Solanki, an expat in Holland wrote: "After years of declining, phishing is on the up. In 2018, the (monetary) damage caused by it had almost quadrupled compared to previous years. ...

The Top Lesson From The Recent Louisiana 2,000-server Ransomware Infection: "User Education, User Education, User Education"

Louisiana suffered a ransomware attack last week that took down more than two thousand of the state’s computers and servers. The ransomware apparently entered the network after a user ...

Google Sent 12K Nation-State Phishing Warnings In Three Months

Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) delivered thousands of alerts of government-backed attempts to spearphish gmail users over just a three-month period earlier this year, they reported.

Phishing Simulations Should be Educational, not Punitive

Phishing training programs need to be focused on educating employees rather than on shaming them, according to David Spark and Allan Alford, co-hosts of the Defense in Depth podcast. On ...

Waterloo Brewing loses $2.1 million in social engineering cyberattack

Waterloo Brewing Ltd. says it has lost $2.1 million in what it calls a social engineering cyberattack. The Ontario brewery says the incident occurred in early November and involved the ...

[Heads-up. This Is Ugly] After Refusing The Maze Ransomware Payment, Their Stolen Data Was Leaked

After a deadline was missed for receiving a ransom payment, the group behind Maze Ransomware has published almost 700 MB worth of data and files stolen from a security staffing firm. Our ...

A massive international email scam netted $3 million worth of top-secret US military equipment

In a recent case first reported by Quartz, a crew of international cyber criminals allegedly convinced an unidentified US defense contractor to send them millions of dollars worth of ...