"I am a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(“FBI”), and have been so employed since approximately March 2015...I primarily investigate cyber-enabled fraud and business email compromise (“BEC”) schemes," that's how the FBI's criminal complaint against Ray "Hushpuppi" Abbas begins. Abbas is the Nigerian man accused of participating in a massive email scam operation targeting US businesses. 

This is a true story of a small company that got ransomware. We'll tell you how it happened, and what choices the company ultimately made. Then, we'll explore the question, "was there a better way?" 

Before the Coronavirus outbreak, payroll scams were already increasing. Now, with bad guys seeing workers more dependent on getting paid on time, this type of phishing fraud is happening even more. 

If you search the dark web--the scary online world hidden from search engines, you'll discover that everything is for sale, including ready-made ransomware. If you're a small business owner, here are some things about this underworld that you should know...

As you read this, hackers all over the world are sharing successful phishing scripts with each other and composing messages that will open the door to the next big breach. One of their main targets? American politics.