United States Reported Less Data Breaches in 2020 but with much more Expensive Successful Hacker Attacks
According to the annual report of the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), 1,108 cyber incidents were reported in 2020 and the number casualties from these incidents was close to 301 million people, a drop of 66% over the previous year.
The social engineering technique of impersonation also helped attackers reap massive profits:
The volume of business fraud and hacking by corporate e-mail systems (BECs) reported to the FBI in 2020 was US$ 1.8 Billion – a figure that reflects half of all cyber damage in monetary terms.
“The trend away from mass data breaches and toward more precise and sophisticated cyberattacks doesn’t mean businesses can relax. Just the opposite. They need to learn whole new ways of protecting their data.”
– James E. Lee, ITRC COO
Read more about Examples and Numbers of Social Engineering Hacker Attacks ›
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🐝 Free Open-Source Honeypots Exposing Real Attacks Right Now 🐝
Honeypots give CISOs a unique view into attacker behavior – and the best part? Several powerful solutions are completely free and open-source. Here’s a curated list to start deploying today:
1️⃣ Cowrie – SSH and Telnet honeypot that logs brute-force attacks and shell interaction.
🔗 https://github.com/cowrie/cowrie
2️⃣ Dionaea – Captures malware targeting vulnerable services and downloads.
🔗 https://github.com/DinoTools/dionaea
3️⃣ Glastopf – Web application honeypot for detecting and logging exploit attempts.
🔗 https://github.com/mushorg/glastopf
4️⃣ Honeyd – Create virtual hosts to emulate entire networks and trap attackers.
🔗 https://github.com/DataSoft/Honeyd
5️⃣ Snort + Honeywall – IDS combined with honeypot monitoring to detect network attacks.
🔗 https://www.snort.org/
6️⃣ Conpot – ICS/SCADA honeypot to expose attacks on critical infrastructure protocols.
🔗 https://github.com/mushorg/conpot
7️⃣ Thug – Low-interaction client honeypot for tracking web-based exploits.
🔗 https://github.com/bishopfox/thug
8️⃣ Modern Honey Network (MHN) – Centralized honeypot management framework for multiple sensors.
🔗 https://github.com/pwnlandia/mhn
9️⃣ T-Pot – All-in-one honeypot platform combining multiple honeypots with dashboards.
🔗 https://github.com/dtag-dev-sec/t-pot
⚡ Deploying these allows CISOs to observe live attacks, study tactics, and improve defenses before attackers hit production systems.
At AUMINT.io, we go beyond technology – simulating how attackers exploit the human layer to complement technical insights, ensuring your people are as prepared as your systems.
🔗 Curious how your employees would respond if targeted in real-world attack simulations? Book a free demo
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Agentic AI – The Next Frontier in Social Engineering Attacks
🚨 Agentic AI Is Revolutionizing Social Engineering Threats
💡 Cybercriminals are using autonomous AI to craft highly personalized attacks that act and adapt without human intervention.
⚠️ These attacks mimic tone, context, and communication style, making them extremely convincing and difficult to detect.
🔍 The human factor remains the weakest link – one misstep can compromise entire networks.
🔥 AUMINT Trident simulates agentic AI attacks in real-world scenarios, providing insights to strengthen employee awareness and organizational resilience.
📅 Protect your team from AI-powered manipulations before it’s too late: https://calendly.com/aumint/aumint-intro
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#CISO #CyberSecurity #SocialEngineering #FraudPrevention #AIThreats #HumanFactor #EmployeeAwareness
🔒 9 Free Encryption Tools CISOs Trust with Sensitive Data 🔒
Protecting sensitive data is a top priority for CISOs – but strong encryption doesn’t have to come with a big price tag. Here are 9 trusted free encryption tools that help secure files, communications, and endpoints:
1️⃣ VeraCrypt – Open-source disk encryption for full volume and container protection.
🔗 https://www.veracrypt.fr/en/Home.html
2️⃣ GnuPG (GPG) – Encrypt emails, files, and communications with open-source public-key cryptography.
🔗 https://gnupg.org/
3️⃣ OpenSSL – Toolkit for SSL/TLS encryption, certificate generation, and secure communications.
🔗 https://www.openssl.org/
4️⃣ AxCrypt – Free file encryption with secure password management for individuals and small teams.
🔗 https://www.axcrypt.net/
5️⃣ BitLocker (Windows Free Edition) – Full-disk encryption built into Windows Pro editions.
🔗 https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/information-protection/bitlocker/
6️⃣ Cryptomator – Open-source encryption for cloud storage files and folders.
🔗 https://cryptomator.org/
7️⃣ KeePassXC – Open-source password manager with strong encryption for credentials.
🔗 https://keepassxc.org/
8️⃣ OpenSSH – Secure shell and encrypted file transfer for remote systems.
🔗 https://www.openssh.com/
9️⃣ 7-Zip – File archiver with AES-256 encryption for secure storage and transfer.
🔗 https://www.7-zip.org/
⚡ These tools help CISOs secure endpoints, emails, cloud data, and communication channels without licensing overhead.
At AUMINT.io, we complement these technical defenses by simulating human-targeted attacks, ensuring your employees understand encryption importance and don’t create accidental leaks.
🔗 Want to see where your human layer could undermine your encryption strategy? Book a free demo
#CISO #Encryption #CyberSecurity #DataProtection #AUMINT