In 1971, Ray Tomlison developed the first email service while working at The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) . This development changed how we communicated. However, even though this was an exceptional tool, it was not very user-friendly, requiring users to have specific software installed on their computers. In 1996, Sabeer Bhatia founded Hotmail, making it the first web-based...

Social media platforms have become non-negotiables in our daily lives. We always find ourselves online at our favorite social media sites to connect with loved ones, share our thoughts, and discover interesting content. While social media has become central to our routines, its vast reach and anonymity provide certain risks—they’ve become a breeding ground for scammers. Awareness is key to...

Cyber threats are constantly evolving, and the most recent evolution of phishing scams is proving particularly effective. Boasting a gruesome name, pig butchering is a cyber threat that reels in victims and steals thousands, sometimes millions of dollars. Pig butchering has quickly become one of the most lucrative scams thanks to a mix of post-pandemic loneliness and inadequate technological...

Passwords have become a cornerstone of the Internet. These strings of letters and numbers allow us to validate access to various communities, online tools, healthcare, banking, and more. As more and more information is stored behind passwords, efforts to steal and crack them have vastly increased. These new cyber threats led to the creation of tools called password managers, to which hackers...

The first challenge security professionals who want to implement security awareness training face is that this training is usually perceived as a punishment or a chore. This perception varies based on how the training is contextualized, its delivery method, and the organizational culture in which it is introduced. As the renowned psychologist and behaviorist B.F. Skinner put it, “The behavior of...

The participation of women in the cybersecurity field is on a notable rise. According to projections by CyberCrime Magazine, they are set to represent 30% of the global cybersecurity workforce by 2025, with this percentage increasing to 35% by 2031. There is also an increasing number of women filling leadership positions within the industry, with 17% of women in CISO roles at Fortune 500 companies...

With roughly 5 billion people —a whopping 65% of the global population—sending and receiving SMS messages, it’s no wonder that hackers have taken to SMS as a new way to lead cyber attacks. In 2022, 68.4 million Americans fell victim to a phone scam. And only 65% of Americans say they would delete a text if it came from an unknown sender. With these kinds of numbers, the odds are in hackers’ favor...

For those of a certain age, you may remember the old gag where you would call up a business and ask if they had “Prince Albert in a can.” This happened way back in the days when you could purchase loose tobacco in a tin can. Prince Albert was one such product. Now, if the person on the phone answered yes, you could say, “Well, let him out!” Yes, this is what pranks looked like in the 1960s. Fast...

Valentine’s Day isn’t just a day for romance. It’s a time of year when cyber criminals and scammers launch attacks such as phishing , vishing , smishing , and social engineering . Australia has begun issuing warnings to singles, informing them of the “pig butchering” or “romance baiting” scam that’s prominent on Valentine’s Day. It starts with the attacker assuming the identity of an attractive...

QR codes have come a long way since being invented in 1994 by a subsidiary of Toyota. Initially introduced to address some limitations of barcodes during the car manufacturing process, QR codes have since become staples in people’s day-to-day lives. The introduction of high-powered cameras to most modern smartphones is what allowed these codes to gain new uses. QR codes, easily generated and cost...

On February 6, 2024, we will celebrate Safer Internet Day with learning events dedicated to inspiring change and highlighting the importance of online safety. This year, we can expect activities from organizational and industry supporters, schools and government agencies, community groups, and business leaders. With cyber security risks rising, Safer Internet Day is an opportunity to raise...

Cyber security awareness is an everyday job, and it’s easy to fall into a false sense of security once you have a solid plan in place. Every year, statistics are a reminder that hackers and scammers never sleep. New trends and attack types pop up daily, making it difficult to keep track. This list is a rundown of the most important statistics of the year, allowing you to get a good overview of...

The rise of generative AI like ChatGPT and Midjourney has been one of this decade’s most revolutionary technological advancements. This technology has allowed businesses to scale their operations more efficiently and enabled entirely new functionalities within existing tools. While generative AI has had a largely positive impact on the world, its negative aspects cannot be ignored. From text to...

E-commerce growth is expected to grow by 9.4% by 2024; by 2027, it’s forecasted to hit a whopping $8 trillion for the first time. More people shopping online means more opportunities for cyber criminals to strike. In fact, there’s a growing trend of cyber scams taking place during the holiday shopping spree. As we all get busy with our holiday shopping and preparations, keeping security in mind is...