Image 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...

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...

“On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog.”     Cartoon by Peter Steiner There’s a reason this cartoon gained popularity in 1993 and has now become an iconic representation of how the internet works. The internet provides a way for people to hide their real identities, which can unfortunately lead to dishonest activities. Nowadays, scammers take advantage of this to...

Less of a cyber security threat and closer to a scam, Vishing refers to attempts to steal information or money over the phone by convincing the victim. These calls often use personal data acquired through previous cyber attacks to gain their victim’s trust. This type of threat is definitely on the rise—especially with the help of AI. Like many other hacks and scams, Vishing is...

Cybersecurity training is crucial, yet traditional methods often fail to inspire engagement, leading to subpar knowledge retention and application of critical security practices. As security threats constantly evolve, you need training that not only informs but also captivates and motivates. Enter gamification. By weaving elements of game design into training programs, you...

An urgent voicemail message from the tax department. A text message from Microsoft tech support warning you about a problem with your computer. A caller asking you to confirm your mailing address and credit card number so you can collect your free prize. A text message requesting your confirmation of an Amazon shipment. These are all examples of smishing and vishing cyber...

March is Fraud Prevention Month, and Terranova Security wants to take this opportunity to emphasize the importance of raising awareness on information security best practices. Let’s stop online fraud in its tracks. As security professionals focused on Information Security Awareness (ISA), much of what we do is fraud prevention. Our aims and actions have a direct link to Fraud...

Spoofing refers to an attack where hackers use various ways to disguise their identity so that their victims think they are talking to their coworker, boss, or business. The methods used to achieve this are the typical phishing tropes such as fake websites, links, and social engineering. When spoofing is involved, it’s often more helpful to focus on detecting the facade rather...

Imagine waking up one day and the organizations you deal with – your bank, your workplace, the tax office, your educational institution – don’t recognize you as you. Sounds like science fiction, right? In its extreme version, it is. But versions of this story are playing out for people and organizations daily as incidences of identity theft occur more frequently around the...

Know how to identify and prevent a spoofing attack Spoofing attacks are the ultimate form of cybercriminal trickery and deception. Cybercriminals disguise themselves and rely on trust to steal confidential information, install ransomware, and commit other cybercrimes. Spoofing comes down to trust. Cybercriminals hide behind trusted people, domains, URLs, and the technical...

Leveraging a spirit of competition to drive engagement and create a security culture Gamification is a popular concept these days, and for good reason. With gamification, you can develop a game for learning more about a serious topic while also getting the learner to approach winning that game with the same fervor they would when playing for entertainment. So what happens when...

Identity theft is not a new phenomenon, but has evolved with the advent of information technology. Nowadays, access to a large amount of information available on the Internet, the exploitation of IT or the use of various scams allow fraudsters to obtain private or confidential information about their victims in order to steal their identity and then commit malfeasance. ...