911Cyber

🛡️ Humans of Cyber | Day 18 Brian Krebs is one of the world’s most respected cybercrime reporters. His blog, KrebsonSecurity, attracts millions of readers each month and is often the first place security professionals go when a new breach is uncovered. Krebs began as a journalist at The Washington Post in the late 1990s. In 2001, his own computer was infected by the Lion worm, which sparked his deep interest in cybersecurity. By 2005, he was leading the Post’s Security Fix blog, where he broke major stories on cyberattacks and online fraud. Since launching KrebsOnSecurity in 2009, he has revealed some of the most significant breaches of the past two decades, including: 🔹 The 2013 Target breach, which compromised data of over 40 million credit and debit cards. 🔹 The 2014 Home Depot breach, affecting 56 million payment cards. 🔹 The 2015 Ashley Madison hack, exposing the personal data of 32 million users. His work has directly influenced how companies handle security disclosures and has pressured industries to adopt stronger defenses. Krebs’ investigations have not been without risk. In 2016, his site suffered one of the largest DDoS attacks ever recorded at the time, exceeding 620 Gbps. Criminals he exposed have repeatedly tried to get to him, but his reporting continues to stand strong. Brian Krebs proves that journalism is as vital to cybersecurity as firewalls and encryption. His reporting not only educates the public but also disrupts criminal networks and drives accountability at the highest levels. Tagging some journalists in the field of cybersecurity : Ben Kendall, Deirdre N., Emily Louise Carr #HumansOfCyber #BrianKrebs #CyberJournalism #CyberSecurity #KrebsOnSecurity #DataBreach #DigitalSafety #Cybercrime #InfoSec #InformationSecurity

🛡️ Humans of Cyber | Day 17 In 1986, a 75 cent accounting error changed the history of cybersecurity. Cliff Stoll, an astronomer turned system administrator at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, noticed a discrepancy of just 75 cents in computer usage records. The lab’s time-sharing system billed researchers for hours of computer access, but one account did not add up. That small error sparked a year-long investigation that exposed one of the first major cases of cyber espionage. As Stoll dug deeper, he realized that someone was entering U.S. military and research networks through Berkeley’s systems. Using nothing more than handwritten logs, and custom scripts, he traced the activity back to hackers in West Germany. To follow their movements, he even created decoy files with fake military secrets, waiting to see if they would be stolen. When the evidence became undeniable, Stoll contacted U.S. authorities. At first, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was skeptical of what appeared to be just a billing problem. As he provided more proof of intrusions across sensitive networks, the bureau escalated the case. The CIA became involved because of the espionage connections, and German law enforcement began coordinating to track the hackers on their end. This cooperation eventually led to the exposure and dismantling of the espionage ring that was selling stolen information to the Soviet KGB. Cliff Stoll later shared the story in The Cuckoo’s Egg, a book that remains a cybersecurity classic. Nearly four decades later, it still reminds us that the smallest anomalies, even a 75 cent accounting error, can uncover the largest threats and that human curiosity is the most powerful tool in defense. #HumansOfCyber #CliffStoll #CuckoosEgg #CyberSecurity #DigitalForensics #CyberEspionage #InfoSec #Defenders #InformationSecurity

🛡️ Humans of Cyber | Day 16 In the early days of computing, secure communication faced a serious limitation. To exchange encrypted messages, both parties had to agree on a secret key in advance, a process that was risky and impractical on a large scale. In 1976, Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman introduced a groundbreaking idea that changed the direction of cybersecurity. Their work on public key cryptography created a system where one key could be shared openly and another kept private, solving the challenge of secure key exchange. This breakthrough became the foundation for almost every aspect of trust we rely on today. From websites and online banking to digital signatures, VPNs, and cryptocurrencies, the principles they pioneered remain at the core of modern security systems. The significance of their contribution was recognized in 2015 when they received the Turing Award, the highest honor in computer science. More importantly, billions of people benefit from their innovation every day, often without realizing it. The story of Diffie and Hellman shows that true cybersecurity is as much about innovation as it is about protection. Grateful for the pioneering work of Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman, and we are  inspired by fellow cryptography leaders such as shafi goldwasser, Silvio Micali, Taher Elgamal, and Paul Kocher, who continue to push the boundaries of secure communication. #HumansOfCyber #WhitfieldDiffie #MartinHellman #PublicKeyCryptography #Encryption #CyberSecurity #TuringAward #DigitalTrust #InformationSecurity

🛡️ Humans of Cyber | Day 15 In the late 1980s, a young hacker named Kevin Poulsen became known as “Dark Dante.” With exceptional skills in phone phreaking and computer intrusion, he broke into phone systems, government networks, and even manipulated a radio station contest to win a Porsche. His exploits soon caught the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In 1991, after a nationwide manhunt, Poulsen was arrested and sentenced to five years in federal prison. It was one of the most severe punishments for hacking at that time. Prison could have ended his story, but it became a turning point. Poulsen chose to rebuild his life. After serving his sentence, he redirected his expertise toward journalism and the public good. He went on to become a respected investigative reporter at WIRED and The Daily Beast, uncovering critical issues such as online crime, surveillance, and digital privacy. At Wired, he also helped build a secure system to protect whistleblowers who shared sensitive information with journalists, turning once dangerous knowledge into a tool for accountability. Poulsen broke major stories on FBI surveillance methods and later co-authored Kingpin (https://lnkd.in/gQjmeSn7) , an acclaimed book on the rise and fall of hacker Max Butler. ✅ His journey proves that cyber talent can be used to harm or to protect. ✅ It shows how redemption and responsibility can transform a career. ✅ Today, Poulsen’s work informs the public and strengthens trust in digital reporting. Once pursued by the FBI, Kevin Poulsen is now recognized as a voice for digital ethics and responsible technology. Sometimes cybersecurity is about second chances and how those who once exploited weaknesses can become defenders of truth. #HumansOfCyber #KevinPoulsen #HackerToHero #CyberRedemption #CyberSecurity #DigitalEthics #Kingpin #Wired #CyberForGood #InformationSecurity

🚨 Hidden cyber threat: Cryptojacking Cybercriminals hijack your CPU and GPU cycles to mine cryptocurrency. This slows systems, raises power bills, and damages hardware without leaving obvious signs. 🔍 How do you monitor unusual CPU spikes or resource drains in your environment? Stay protected by patching regularly, avoiding risky sites, and using trusted security tools to block cryptojacking. #CyberSecurity #Cryptojacking #Infosec #ThreatDetection #InformationSecurity

🛡️ Humans of Cyber | Day 14 In 1998, cybersecurity lacked affordable and effective tools to spot intruders on networks. Most intrusion detection systems were expensive, closed, and far out of reach for smaller organizations. That year, Martin Roesch, a network security researcher, wrote the first version of Snort in his free time. It began as a lightweight packet sniffer, but quickly grew into one of the most widely used intrusion detection and prevention systems in the world. Snort worked differently. Instead of relying on expensive enterprise hardware, it used a rules-based engine that allowed anyone to define patterns of suspicious traffic. It could scan every packet in real time and alert, log, or block activity that matched known threats. This made advanced network defense accessible to everyone, not just the largest corporations. The impact was enormous. Snort has been downloaded over 5 million times and is deployed across hundreds of thousands of organizations worldwide, from small businesses to Fortune 500 enterprises. In 2001, Roesch founded Sourcefire to support its growth, and by 2013, Cisco acquired the company, making Snort a cornerstone of its global security portfolio. ✅ What began as a side project became the world’s leading open-source intrusion detection tool. ✅ Today, Snort continues to protect critical infrastructure, businesses, and governments around the globe. Cybersecurity is often about building shields. Martin Roesch is one engineer who created a shield powerful enough to be carried by millions. Tagging a few talented engineers and leaders from Sourcefire, part of Cisco who played key roles, Jennifer Sunshine Steffens, Marc Solomon and Matt Watchinski. #HumansOfCyber #MartinRoesch #Snort #Cisco #CyberSecurity #OpenSource #IDS #IPS #NetworkDefense #CyberForGood #InformationSecurity

🛡️ Humans of Cyber | Day 13 In 2013, child exploitation investigators faced an overwhelming challenge. Every case meant reviewing thousands of horrific images by hand. Each picture was a clue, but sorting and identifying victims took months, even years. Something had to change. That year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), and law enforcement agencies worldwide launched Project Vic, co-founded by Jim Cole and Richard W Brown They were joined by technology partners like Microsoft, Thorn, Cellebrite, and PhotoDNA experts. At Microsoft, leaders such as Brad Smith, Courtney G., and Dr. Hany Farid (co-creator of PhotoDNA) helped bring cutting-edge safety tech into the fight. At NCMEC, John Shehan has been a driving force for global collaboration. And at Thorn, co-founders Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, and CEO Julie Cordua have pushed relentlessly to protect children in the digital age. Toolmakers like Jad Saliba (Magnet Forensics), Johann Hofmann (Griffeye), and Lee Reiber (Oxygen Forensics) ensured that Project Vic’s technology reached investigators’ hands quickly. The goal was simple but urgent: give investigators cyber tools to speed up victim identification. 🔹 Project Vic introduced hash-matching technology to instantly tag known illegal material. 🔹 It created shared global databases of digital fingerprints so agencies could collaborate in real time. 🔹 It deployed machine learning to uncover hidden links between files, locations, and offenders. The results have been life-changing: ✅ Thousands of children identified and rescued. ✅ Investigations that once took months now advance in days. ✅ Offenders tracked and stopped faster than ever. Project VIC International proves that cybersecurity is not only about networks and systems. Sometimes, it is about using code to save the most vulnerable. #HumansOfCyber #ProjectVic #ChildProtection #CyberSecurity #DigitalForensics #Thorn #Microsoft #PhotoDNA #LawEnforcement #CyberForGood #InformationSecurity

🚨 Google Breach Spotlight ShinyHunters showed that even trillion-dollar companies can fall when the weakest link is human trust. Their Salesforce CRM hack relied on voice phishing and persuasion, not advanced malware. The result was exposed business client data at Google, Allianz Life, Qantas, Adidas, and luxury brands like Dior and Louis Vuitton. This is a reminder: 🔑 Strong MFA is not enough 📞 Employees must be trained to spot vishing ☁️ SaaS applications require tighter security controls Cyber resilience depends as much on people and processes as it does on technology. 👉 How do you think organizations can better prepare employees to resist vishing and social engineering attacks? #CyberSecurity #DataBreach #ShinyHunters #Google #Salesforce #SocialEngineering #InformationSecurity

🚔 Humans of Cyber | Day 12 When Police Fought Ransomware with Code In 2022, thousands of QNAP and ASUSTOR NAS devices were locked by the DeadBolt ransomware gang. Victims were told to pay in Bitcoin or lose their files forever. The Dutch National Police had different plans. Working with cybersecurity firm Responders.NOW, they chose a different approach. They did not pay or negotiate. Instead, they studied the attacker’s own system. The catch was that DeadBolt’s payment process automatically sent decryption keys once Bitcoin was received. This very mechanism became its weakness. With the help of Rickey Gevers from Responders.NOW and guidance from the Politie Nederland, including leader Matthijs J., investigators discovered how to turn the process against the criminals. The police exploited it. They pulled keys directly from the blockchain and gave them to the victims. People were able to recover their data without sending money to criminals. Later, forensic reports confirmed the scale of the operation’s success: decryption keys were recovered for the majority of reported victims, stripping DeadBolt of its leverage and restoring access to victims’ files. This success was not the result of a headline-grabbing raid or dramatic takedown. It was technical work, supported by Europol, the Netherlands’ Public Prosecution Service, the French National Police, and Gendarmerie Nationale, that reshaped what is possible in ransomware response. The Dutch National Police proved that sometimes the best way to fight ransomware is to turn the criminal’s own system against them. #HumansOfCyber #Ransomware #DeadBolt #DutchPolice #Cybercrime #IncidentResponse #BlockchainForensics #CyberSecurity #InformationSecurity

Humans of Cyber | Day 11 Craig Newmark, the founder of craigslist, is not only an internet pioneer but also one of the most influential philanthropists in technology. ✔️ Through Craig Newmark Philanthropies, he has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to strengthen democracy, support veterans, and build digital resilience. ✔️ In 2022, he launched the Cyber Civil Defense Initiative with a $100M pledge to protect critical infrastructure and equip citizens with cybersecurity tools. ✔️ In 2025, he committed $3.2M to UnDisruptable27 to safeguard utilities like water and energy from state-backed cyberattacks. ✔️ He has funded West Point’s Cyber Team and supported the CyberPeace Institute’s volunteer network to protect schools and nonprofits. ✔️ Beyond infrastructure, he has backed the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Girls Who Code, Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS), Black Girls Hack, and journalism programs at Columbia, Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, Poynter, and ProPublica. Craig Newmark proves that one person’s success can drive lasting change across cybersecurity, education, and public interest technology. #HumansOfCyber #CraigNewmark #CyberCivilDefense #Cybersecurity #Philanthropy #DigitalDemocracy #PublicGood #InformationSecurity #ElectronicFrontierFoundation #BlackGirlsHack #WomeninCybersecurity