Exploiting the Coronavirus: The Spammers, the Scammers, and the Bad Guys

Mar 9, 2020 1:35:06 PM By Eric Howes

By Eric Howes, KnowBe4 Principal Lab Researcher. If you've been paying attention to the news over the past week or so, you've undoubtedly noticed that the majority of the stories on your ...

Use Advocates to Spread Your Security Awareness Training Program

Mar 9, 2020 8:00:00 AM By Roger Grimes

I’ve always been a big fan of train-the-trainer programs. Even if you are a great computer security consultant and trainer, there is a limit to what you, one person or one team, can do. ...

Social Security Administration Warns of Phone Scams On March 5th "Slam The Scam Day"

Mar 4, 2020 3:47:47 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

The Social Security Administration in Association with the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) National Consumer Protection Week, want to remind everyone that scammers are now targeting ...

Bogus Singapore Police Site Serves as a Watering Hole

Mar 2, 2020 11:09:01 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) released an advisory warning about a phishing site that’s spoofing the Force’s website, Channel News Asia reports. The bogus website informs the user that ...

Verizon: More Than Half of Users Click on Multiple Phishing Links. Social Engineering, Innovation are Responsible

Feb 26, 2020 10:08:50 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

The latest data from Verizon’s 2020 Mobile Security Index report shows that both consumer and business users make it all too easy for cyberattackers to fool them into becoming a victim.

An Influence or Wire Fraud?

Feb 26, 2020 8:26:37 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

A 22-year-old Instagram and YouTube influencer named Kayla Massa has been arrested after allegedly convincing her followers to assist her in a fraud scheme, Quartz reports. Prosecutors ...

39 Percent of Organizations Were Victims of a Mobile Attack Despite Improved Security

Feb 26, 2020 8:19:25 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Brand new data from Verizon shows businesses sacrificed when it comes to mobile security; a decision that caused compromises with impacts well-beyond just a simple breach.

Why Minimizing Human Error is the Only Viable Defense Against Spear Phishing

Feb 25, 2020 11:21:58 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Phishing attacks have become one of the business world's top cybersecurity concerns. These social engineering attacks have been rising over the years, with the most recent report from the ...

Spamming Tools are a Commodity in the Criminal Underworld

Feb 25, 2020 8:21:25 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Cheap and easy-to-use phishing kits and other social engineering tools are readily available for purchase on the black market, according to researchers at Digital Shadows. Criminals ...

WSJ: "Losing $450,000 in Three Days: Hackers Trick Victims Into Big Wire Transfers"

Feb 24, 2020 12:32:09 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

Rachel Louise Ensign wrote a great story for the WSJ about CEO Fraud, also known by the FBI as Business Email Compromise. I'm quoting an extract and I strongly recommend sending a link to ...

[EYE-OPENER] Dutch Minister Of Justice And Security: "Fighting Phishing Starts With Awareness"

Feb 24, 2020 8:00:01 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

"The fight against phishing starts with raising the awareness of internet users, stated Justice and Security Minister Grapperhaus. He responded to figures from Dutch banks showing that ...

[Heads-up] Ransomware Criminals Hack An Accounting Company And Cause A Data Breach For Their Customers

Feb 24, 2020 7:00:00 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Last December, a ransomware infection of Albany, New York-based accounting firm BST & Co. CPAs LLC exposed the confidential data of their customers, causing a data breach for one of ...

Here Is A Real-life Bank Phone Scam Blocked By A Security Awareness Trained Employee

Feb 21, 2020 12:01:58 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

Brad Mathis at our partner Keller Schroeder sent me the following real-life story from Matt, a KnowBe4 Security Awareness Training client...

Phishing URLs Increase 640% as Organizations (Finally!) Embrace Security Awareness Training

Feb 20, 2020 6:16:10 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

The latest data from security vendor Webroot shows how cybercriminals are changing their attack methods and targets – and how Security Awareness Training makes the difference.

New Spear Phishing Campaign Targets 27 Famous Brands With Malicious SLK Files

Feb 20, 2020 6:04:08 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

A new spear phishing campaign is targeting twenty-seven companies around the world with malicious SLK (Symbolic Link) files, according to BleepingComputer. The attackers pose as a real ...

A U.S. Natural Gas Operator Shuts Down For 2 Days After A Phishing Attack Infects It With Ransomware

Feb 19, 2020 6:29:18 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Dan Goodin at Ars Technica reported something worrisome: "A US-based natural gas facility shut down operations for two days after sustaining a ransomware infection that prevented ...

Cyberattacks in 2019 Cost over $3.5 Billion in Victim Losses with Business Email Compromise Taking in Half

Feb 14, 2020 8:35:19 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

The FBI’s annual year-in-review breaks down how 467,000 cyber attacks succeeded in taking consumers and businesses alike for billions of dollars.

Seasonal Scams: Valentine's Day Edition

Feb 12, 2020 8:37:14 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Romance scams and confidence scams cause both emotional and financial pain. According to the latest FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) figures for 2019, confidence/romance scams ...

FTC Alert: Coronavirus Scammers Love Scary Bad News

Feb 11, 2020 4:19:10 PM By Stu Sjouwerman

Scary news stories in the headlines always bring out the bad guys looking to make a quick illegal buck.

Education is Necessary to Stay Ahead of Threats

Feb 10, 2020 8:27:49 AM By Stu Sjouwerman

Most people don’t realize how vulnerable they are to social engineering until they experience it, according to Anna Collard, the founder of KnowBe4’s South African security awareness ...

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