The Onion Gets Hacked
The Onion, the Internet’s favorite parody news site, was recently the victim of a hack that compromised their corporate Google Accounts as well as their Twitter accounts. They were hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA). They’re the group that hacked into the AP Twitter account and announced that two bombs went off in the White House injuring President Obama. This news sent the DOW…
The Secret To Chinese Hackers Success
It seems that it is hard to turn on the news without hearing another report about Chinese Hackers. According to some reports, the Chinese have shown time and time again that they are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to cyber warfare. Recent investigations have shown that, perhaps, the Chinese Army is even responsible for many government and corporate secrets being siphoned from U.S.…
Etsy – You Are What You Buy
You would think after the past years scandals with Facebook, blippy, and other various social media snafus that the industry would start to get wise and be more careful about what personal information of their users they release online. This is a long term problem however, for instance a couple years ago Sophos did a research study that found over 41% of the people they surveyed easily and…
Be Prepared for Cybersecurity Awareness Month
As your alarm goes off you roll over and pick up your phone. Turning the alarm off, you check your notifications on your phone. For many, the above scenario is extremely familiar. Not only is it familiar, but it’s routine. Phones, computers, and other technology have become an integral part of many people's lives. This is just one reason why we have an entire month devoted to internet awareness…
Change Resistance and Cybersecurity
Possibly one of the most concerning, yet common, phrases you could hear a leader say is, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” On the surface this thinking makes sense, if something already works then why mess with it. But, if we go below surface level, what we are really seeing is change resistance. The problem here is that the cybersecurity landscape is dynamic and ever-changing, meaning that the…
Influence Tactics in Everyday Life: Collections
Social engineering and collections may seem like two vastly different professions. However, they share many similarities when it comes to using influence tactics to achieve their respective goals. Before my work as a Human Risk Analyst for Social-Engineer, I had previously worked in this field of collections. This involved talking to people on the phone and collecting past due payments on retail…
Ep. 199 – Security Awareness Series – Bitcoin and SIM Swap with Haseeb Awan
Today on the Social-Engineer Podcast: The Security Awareness Series, Ryan and I are joined by Haseeb Awan. Haseeb is the CEO & Founder of Efani Secure Mobile, a company that works with ultra-high-net-worth individuals on their Mobile Security. Previously, he co-founded one of the largest Bitcoin ATM networks. He has been featured on NYT, TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, Hulu, and several…
Understanding Threat Actors
A threat actor or “malicious actor” is defined as either a person or a group of people that take part in an action that is intended to cause harm in the cyber realm. They engage in cyber related offenses to exploit open vulnerabilities in many different manners. Their targets can be individuals, or even large corporations.
According to the 2022 DBI Report, 82% of data breaches involved the…