Human and Identity Threats
Most attacks today land through people and credentials, not through unpatched servers. This shelf covers the human-side attack vectors (phishing, BEC, social engineering, insider threats) and the access controls that defend against them (IAM, PAM, identity threat detection).
About this shelf
Most modern attacks land through people and credentials, not through unpatched servers. Phishing remains the dominant initial access vector across every industry; Business Email Compromise costs more in absolute dollars than ransomware in most years; stolen credentials from infostealer logs feed a continuous stream of account takeovers. The defensive answer is not a single control but a layered combination of identity-aware authentication, privileged access management, user education, and detection of identity-based attack patterns that evade traditional endpoint and network controls.
Articles in this shelf cover both sides of the equation. The threats: phishing fundamentals and the evolving tradecraft (smishing, vishing, MFA fatigue, adversary-in-the-middle proxies that bypass legacy MFA), Business Email Compromise as a distinct category of fraud, broader social engineering patterns including pretexting and physical-vector attacks, and insider threats both malicious and negligent. The controls: Identity and Access Management (IAM) as the core foundation, Privileged Access Management (PAM) for high-impact accounts, identity threat detection and response, and the move toward phishing-resistant authentication (FIDO2, passkeys) as a meaningful step beyond SMS-based and TOTP MFA.
The articles are written with the recognition that people-based controls have limits. Awareness training does not solve phishing; well-funded social engineering will get through any human; insider threats are inherent in trusting anyone. The defensive posture that works combines technical controls that reduce the consequence of a successful social engineering attack with detection patterns that catch the post-compromise activity quickly. That perspective shapes how every article in this shelf is written.
Articles in this shelf7 articles
Business Email Compromise (BEC)
How BEC attacks redirect billions of dollars per year through impersonation and payment fraud, the four main BEC patterns, and which controls actually stop them.
9 min read · Updated 2026-04-26IAM Basics
The fundamental concepts of Identity and Access Management, the difference between authentication and authorisation, and the common weaknesses that turn IAM into the most-targeted layer in modern attacks.
9 min read · Updated 2026-04-26Identity Threats and Account Takeover
How attackers compromise identities in 2026, from credential stuffing through MFA bypass to session hijacking, and why identity has replaced the network as the new perimeter.
9 min read · Updated 2026-04-26Insider Threats
Why most insider incidents are negligent rather than malicious, the realistic scenarios that keep happening, and what controls actually catch them without poisoning workplace trust.
9 min read · Updated 2026-04-26Phishing Fundamentals
How phishing became the dominant initial access vector, the major variants security teams face in 2026, and what actually reduces the attack surface.
9 min read · Updated 2026-04-26Privileged Access Management (PAM)
Why privileged accounts sit at the centre of every ransomware kill chain, what PAM platforms actually do, and the gaps PAM does not close.
9 min read · Updated 2026-04-26Social Engineering
The psychological principles attackers exploit, the umbrella concept above phishing, and what kind of training actually changes behaviour rather than just generating click metrics.
9 min read · Updated 2026-04-26