Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

When thinking about which industries get targeted most often in ransomware attacks, many people think that large healthcare and financial institutions would be at the top of the list. Most people don’t associate cyber attacks with K-12 schools. However, a recent cybersecurity report noted that lower education, or K-12 schools, is the single most targeted industry for ransomware attacks, with 80% of schools reporting a ransomware attack in 2023.

Human errors in cybersecurity can result in cyber attacks that lead to data breaches, financial losses and irreparable impacts to businesses. Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report found that more than 68% of data breaches were caused by human error. Human factors that can contribute to a breach include using weak passwords, reusing the same passwords or employees falling victim to phishing scams.

Password fatigue is the exhausting feeling individuals experience due to the excessive number of passwords they need to memorize. People need to remember their passwords to access applications and networks that hold their sensitive information. However, constantly resetting and remembering passwords can burden them, resorting to insecure practices such as saving passwords in a spreadsheet.

Shadow IT – the use of apps or devices outside IT’s oversight – can mean that important business information is at risk of being exposed.

Passwords can often feel like the bane of our existence. They're necessary for practically every app, website, and device we engage with, demanding our constant attention and memory. Managing the multitude of passwords required for our daily routines can be overwhelming. And this is why we are all guilty of not managing passwords properly.

Balancing security and productivity is hard. On one hand, IT and Security have an obligation to protect the company. On the other hand, employees are most productive when they can work with the tools they know and love.

A ticket in cybersecurity is a set of credentials used to authenticate users. A silver ticket is a forged ticket an unauthorized user creates. With this forged silver ticket, threat actors can launch a cyber attack that involves exploiting the weaknesses of a Kerberos authentication system. In this system, a Ticket Granting Service (TGS) serves as the credential token, granting authorized users access to particular services.

Is "RogerLovesTaco$24" a strong password? No! Everyone has a ton of passwords. They should be strong and unique for every site and service you use. Everyone knows this. Note: The information and recommendations in this post are supported in detail by the KnowBe4 ebook,