tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85099191644065975242026-05-29T09:05:20.242-05:00With over 30 years in computing technical roles and specialized GRC expertise, I translate complex security frameworks into actionable insights. My journey from IT VAR to financial compliance to enterprise security initiatives informs this blog, where I break down cybersecurity concepts for both professionals and everyday users seeking practical protection in our digital world.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger245125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-51082137619971940562025-05-23T17:08:00.001-05:002025-05-23T17:08:07.243-05:00

 A Cybersecurity Comedy in Three ActsOr: How Scammers Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Import TaxesScene 1: The Perfect Storm (Brewing in a Very Small Teacup)“Teacup Storm”, © 2025 Eina SchroederPicture this: It’s 2025, and cybercriminals are having their annual strategy meeting in what we can only assume is a poorly ventilated basement somewhere. “Gentlemen,” says the lead scammer,

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-76781234279177824592025-05-22T11:36:00.003-05:002025-05-22T11:36:50.467-05:00

 How to spot the difference between charity confusion and criminal intentImagine this: Down the street, Mrs. Henderson knocks on your door to collect money for the neighborhood animal shelter. She has the official-looking clipboard, the warm smile, and she even brings up your cat, Fluffy, who enjoys lounging in her garden. You feel good about helping your furry friends as you give them

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-6555540505244682902025-05-16T14:17:00.007-05:002025-05-16T14:17:49.110-05:00

The Alarming Rise of Home Title TheftRemember when thieves had the decency to break in through the window and steal your grandmother’s silver? Those were simpler times. Today’s crooks have gone upmarket — why bother with your television when they can steal your entire house right out from under you? Welcome to the world of home title theft, where the bad guys have traded lockpicks for laptops and

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-5504854382490656742025-05-13T13:44:00.002-05:002025-05-13T13:44:35.292-05:00

 The Uncomfortable Truth About Small Business SecurityThat’s essentially what you’re doing if you haven’t secured your business data. While you’re meticulously locking your physical doors each night, your digital front door might be standing wide open, welcome mat out, with a blinking “EASY TARGET” sign overhead.“Easy Target”, © 2025 Eina SchroederThe Uncomfortable Truth About Small Business

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-52901672595406499122025-05-10T13:21:00.000-05:002025-05-10T13:21:01.504-05:00

 Small Operation, Big TargetMicrobusiness owners face a challenge in today’s digital environment: they aren’t small enough to go unnoticed, and they are also vulnerable enough to be the ideal target. While headlines trumpet massive data breaches at corporate giants, the untold story is that of the neighborhood bookstore, the freelance graphic designer, or the family-run accounting practice

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-54610199018734118812025-04-21T12:27:00.001-05:002025-04-21T12:27:38.872-05:00

How to Protect Yourself in 2025 and BeyondIn today’s over and ever hyper-connected world, our personal devices have become extensions of ourselves — storing our memories, managing our finances, and connecting us to loved ones. Behind all the goodness this digital intimacy brings, it also comes with a dark side: the rising threat of ransomware aimed directly at our smartphones, laptops, and home

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-57257396187719531432025-04-09T10:20:00.001-05:002025-04-09T10:20:13.805-05:00

Once upon a time — in a world of words and wonder — there lived a modest punctuation mark named Em Dash. Em had worked tirelessly for centuries, faithfully serving writers who needed dramatic pauses, asides, and emphatic breaks. Shakespeare used em dashes. Dickens adored them. Emily Dickinson couldn’t get enough.“Room Full of Bots”, © 2025 Eina SchroederThen came the robots.“You’re one of THEM!”

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-87100345915437495022025-04-08T17:43:00.005-05:002025-04-08T17:43:59.336-05:00

Hackers are like uninvited party guests with a taste for your digital valuables — they’ll raid your bank accounts, swipe your crypto, or worse, lurk in your DMs like that one relative who comments on all your photos. While these digital home invasions aren’t epidemic (yet), knowing how to check if someone’s trying on your digital identity is essential cybersecurity hygiene — like flossing, but

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-90398674399364123132025-04-08T11:02:00.004-05:002025-04-08T11:02:26.001-05:00

 Navigating the Transition from Business Owner to Employee“Captain of Your Ship”, © 2025 Eina SchroederAfter decades at the helm of your own enterprise, the prospect of joining someone else’s organization can feel like trading in the captain’s chair for a spot on the deck — with someone else controlling the snack budget. The transition from business owner to employee represents one of the

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-55153063232995360772025-04-03T18:04:00.001-05:002025-04-03T18:04:25.524-05:00

 A True Tale of Temporary EmploymentWhile this is a true story, names and dates have been changed.“Business Landscape”, © 2025 Eina SchroederIn today’s business landscape, a troubling pattern has emerged. Small companies, pressed for talent but wary of commitment, increasingly turn to staffing agencies as their solution. What begins as a practical arrangement often transforms into something

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-46142570265734277092025-03-06T17:09:00.003-06:002025-03-06T17:09:40.523-06:00

Email spoofing is a mischievous trick that would make even leprechauns blush — hackers send emails disguised to look like they’re from trusted sources. Much like how leprechauns disguise themselves to protect their gold, these tricksters disguise their identity to gain your trust. People are more likely to open emails they believe come from someone they know, making this tactic as popular in

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-62287132337876995892025-01-21T17:36:00.004-06:002025-01-21T17:36:37.095-06:00

 Protecting Your Digital LifeA friend asked me last week why I seemed so paranoid about browser security. I had to laugh – it's not paranoia when the threats are real. Let me share what I've learned, and taught others, about protecting yourself online, focusing on browser extensions that can transform your browsing from vulnerable to fortified.Photo by Rushya Puttam on 

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-17519627948098500622025-01-09T12:13:00.001-06:002025-01-09T12:13:09.940-06:00

 A Brief and Slightly Less Painful Guide to Decluttering Your Digital Life“Digital Hoard”, © 2025 Eina SchroederPicture this: Your phone is gasping for storage space, your desktop looks like a digital version of your teenage bedroom, and your email inbox has more unread messages than your local library has books. Sound familiar? Let’s embark on a digital decluttering journey that won’t make

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-45427613428488319192025-01-08T13:27:00.002-06:002025-01-08T13:27:46.212-06:00

Tech-smart, young, and successful, Chris Anderson never thought it would happen to him. He truly believed he was doing everything right to protect his personal information and walked through life with this strong belief. But one unfortunate morning, his world turned upside down.“Burn Burn Burn”, © 2025 Eina SchroederI know, from personal experience, this is a horrifying situation to be in. Here’s

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-15588611912474723872025-01-07T08:00:00.002-06:002025-01-07T08:00:00.123-06:00

How to get It Right The First TimeIt’s a nice, sunny morning and you’re sitting in your office, sipping your third coffee of the day, feeling really good about your small business. Everything’s running smoothly — until Lacey from accounting bursts in to tell you the printer has become sentient and is holding the office supplies hostage. Okay, that’s unlikely. But other business risks? Those are

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-57500934479126655252025-01-06T11:11:00.004-06:002025-01-06T11:11:38.746-06:00

 How to Stay Safe Against the new CAPTCHA Threat“Suspicious Candy”, © 2025 Eina SchroederRemember when your parents told you not to take candy from strangers? Well, the digital world has its own version of suspicious candy – and this time it comes in the form of a seemingly innocent double-click CAPTCHA.A cunning new cyber trick is making waves in the security world, and it's turning a basic

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-43899145623087112822025-01-04T14:48:00.001-06:002025-01-04T14:48:07.873-06:00

 Tripping Along the Razor’s Edge“Division of Comedy and Tragedy”, © 2025 Eina SchroederServicing technology in people’s places of work and life can make for some interesting memories. While I mostly remember things, places and activities there are times when the people (and pets) themselves stand out. Not always in the best possible light, sometimes it’s comedic, sometimes it’s bland and

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-44078292365448184472025-01-03T12:06:00.003-06:002025-01-03T12:06:37.384-06:00

 Keeping Your Money Safe in the Digital AgeRemember when the most sophisticated financial scam was someone claiming to be a Nigerian prince? Those were simpler times. As we navigate 2025, fraudsters have upgraded from royal email chains to schemes that would make Ocean’s Eleven look like amateur hour. Let’s dive into this year’s greatest financial fraud hits and learn how to avoid becoming

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-70382711682390528512025-01-02T11:02:00.006-06:002025-01-02T11:02:50.312-06:00

 A survival guide for those who’d rather watch paint dryLet’s face it — compliance planning ranks somewhere between dental surgery and watching congressional hearings on most people’s excitement scale. But like eating your vegetables, it’s essential for organizational health.“Spring Cleaning for Compliance”, © 2025 Eina SchroederThe January Jump-StartThink of January as your compliance “

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-23584849359409426902024-12-31T14:41:00.002-06:002024-12-31T14:41:27.733-06:00

 A Year of Cybersecurity, GRC, FinCrimes and Personal TalesPhoto by Shamblen Studios on UnsplashAs we wave goodbye to a year filled with phantom job positions, romantic pigs, and cybersecurity rabbit holes, let’s raise a toast 🍾to all the scams we didn’t fall for and all the passwords we (hopefully) didn’t reuse! Here’s to 2025 — may your authentication be strong, your

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-13080501152998193172024-12-30T13:05:00.005-06:002024-12-30T13:05:56.379-06:00

 How Banks Are Battling Internal Data Breaches“Teller Behind Bars”, © 2024 Eina SchroederIn an era where cybersecurity threats often conjure images of sophisticated hackers working from distant locations, America’s banks are facing a more insidious threat: their own employees. From Manhattan’s gleaming towers to suburban branches, a disturbing pattern has emerged of bank staff selling

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-49342478759361976312024-12-29T12:09:00.006-06:002024-12-29T12:12:03.699-06:00

 Because Getting Scammed Is So Last SeasonPhoto by Ivan Aleksic on UnsplashPicture this: You’re sipping your morning coffee when your phone buzzes. It’s a message from your “daughter” saying she’s in jail for accidentally running over a pregnant circus performer’s prize-winning chihuahua. She needs $5,000 for bail, STAT. Before you spit out that coffee and rush to Western

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-11632539173002729542024-12-26T11:14:00.005-06:002024-12-26T11:14:32.006-06:00

 Oliver has had better days, for sure. This pro got stung by an old technique revived through new technology. Read his story so you can learn to avoid this disaster.Photo by Yosh Ginsu on UnsplashAn old breed phishing tool called Tycoon 2FA has surfaced anew, enabling criminals to defeat multi-factor authentication protections on Microsoft 365 and Gmail accounts. The platform provides

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-43989138791018814682024-12-23T11:08:00.002-06:002024-12-23T11:08:28.285-06:00

 How Regulatory Burden Reshapes Community Banking and Local EconomiesI worked with a small community bank, for many years. I witnessed first-hand how wonderful they are for small towns. The personal service, the friendly faces, the graces offered. Personal service is what stands out, everyone knows your name, everyone is looking out for one another. You get personal calls, you can even sit

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8509919164406597524.post-46166567132799140512024-12-17T10:42:00.002-06:002024-12-17T10:42:18.766-06:00

 Silicon Valley’s most tech-savvy Feng Shui consultantTim Dixson prided himself on being Silicon Valley’s most tech-savvy Feng Shui consultant. His unique blend of ancient wisdom and modern design had earned him quite a reputation among the area’s startup executives. However, his expertise in harmonizing spaces didn’t extend to cybersecurity, as he was about to discover one fateful morning

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0