Kate Johanns

All posts by Kate Johanns

Kate Johanns is a communications professional and freelance writer with more than 13 years of experience in publishing and marketing.

Tech Time Warp: Morris worm alerts the internet to cybersecurity risks

Tech Time Warp: Morris worm alerts the internet to cybersecurity risks

Back in 1988, the internet was a much smaller and friendlier place. No more than 100,000 computers were online, and no one considered the need for precautions like firewalls. In this week’s Tech Time Warp, we will see where that...

/ November 3, 2023
Tech Time Warp
Tech Time Warp: Three times installing an update would have been a good idea

Tech Time Warp: Three times installing an update would have been a good idea

As Cybersecurity Awareness Month draws to a close, we turn our attention to a frequently overlooked but simple way to stay safe online: installing security updates. Security updates tend to appear at inopportune times, and it’s easy to say, “I’ll...

/ October 27, 2023
Tech Time Warp
Tech Time Warp: First CAN-SPAM conviction snares a phisher

Tech Time Warp: First CAN-SPAM conviction snares a phisher

Most of us have experienced that horrible, sinking feeling that comes with being tricked or nearly tricked by a phishing email. According to the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, one of the organizations behind the 20th annual Cybersecurity Awareness Month,...

/ October 20, 2023
Tech Time Warp: Is MFA the brainchild of a digital pirate?

Tech Time Warp: Is MFA the brainchild of a digital pirate?

In conjunction with the 20th anniversary of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, organizers have introduced a new evergreen theme: “Secure Our World.” Designed for year-round use, the theme encourages adoption of now-widely available security measures such as multi-factor authentication (MFA). Let’s get into this...

/ October 13, 2023
Tech Time Warp
Tech Time Warp: Cracking the code on password safety, at least for now

Tech Time Warp: Cracking the code on password safety, at least for now

October 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of Cybersecurity Awareness Month. This National Cybersecurity Alliance-coordinated event is an excellent time to remind colleagues, friends, and family about the important of protecting yourself online. In this week’s Tech Time Warp will look...

/ October 6, 2023
Tech Time Warp: Spilling the tea about HotJava

Tech Time Warp: Spilling the tea about HotJava

In the mid-1990s, when early internet users were first exposed to the online world via AOL CD-ROMs, websites were static places. You could find text, graphics, and some choppy audio and video. But that was about to change with the...

/ September 29, 2023
Tech Time Warp
Tech Time Warp: History of the first case of ransomware

Tech Time Warp: History of the first case of ransomware

In this week’s Tech Time Warp, we look at the recent cybersecurity news out of Las Vegas sounds like something from Ocean’s 11, no matter whether your taste runs to Frank Sinatra or George Clooney: two of the world’s largest...

/ September 22, 2023
Tech Time Warp
Tech Time Warp: Nimda worm slows traffic with multiple propagation methods

Tech Time Warp: Nimda worm slows traffic with multiple propagation methods

In this week’s Tech Time Warp, we look back to September 2001. While the world was reeling from the 9/11 terrorist attacks, hackers unleashed a new threat: a worm that could modify existing websites to trick users into downloading malware....

/ September 15, 2023
Pioneers in Tech
Pioneers in Tech: Happy birthday to AI pioneer John McCarthy

Pioneers in Tech: Happy birthday to AI pioneer John McCarthy

This week’s Pioneers in Tech takes a look at John McCarthy, the technology pioneer who coined the term “AI” back in 1955. Born Sept. 4, 1927, McCarthy first used “AI” in his proposal for the 1956 Dartmouth Conference, a gathering...

/ September 8, 2023
Tech Time Warp
Tech Time Warp: Woz dabbles in music festivals

Tech Time Warp: Woz dabbles in music festivals

In this week’s Tech Time Warp we discuss how we all know Steve Wozniak as the co-founder of Apple—but did you know Woz also dabbled in rock festivals? Forty-one years ago, while on hiatus from Apple after a plane crash,...

/ September 1, 2023