Cyber Heist Chronicles: Someone Understood the Assignment… Others Fumbled the Bag

This isn’t your typical cybersecurity training. In this lively session, we walk through a real-world-inspired cyberattack that plays out like a true crime story. It features a small-town utility company, a clever hacker, and a group of well-meaning employees who miss the signs until it’s almost too late.

Attendees will follow the timeline of a business email compromise (BEC) that spirals into a full-blown incident. Along the way, they’ll see how small oversights can lead to major consequences, and more importantly, what could have been done differently. The session is full of practical insights, real-life parallels, and specific takeaways for professionals who work with payroll, HR, or sensitive financial information.

By the end of this session, you’ll be able to:

  • Describe how business email compromise (BEC) attacks unfold and escalate over time.

  • Identify common red flags in phishing emails, spoofed messages, and social engineering tactics used to target HR, payroll, and financial professionals.

  • List specific actions individuals and organizations can take to prevent account compromise, including MFA, secure communication practices, and policy changes.

  • Recognize newer threats like voice deepfakes, QR code scams, and compromised vendor accounts that are particularly relevant in 2025.

  • Apply verification and communication strategies to help prevent financial fraud and data exposure in daily work.

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Mary-Michael Horowitz Headshot
Meet the Speaker

Mary-Michael Horowitz, CISM & Co-Founder of Asylas

Mary-Michael Horowitz is a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and the co-founder of Asylas, a cybersecurity consulting firm that helps businesses take security seriously without taking themselves too seriously. With a strong background in IT sales and business development, she’s built a career on making cybersecurity clear, practical, and impossible to ignore.

Known for her sharp instincts, straight talk, and no-BS approach, Mary-Michael specializes in helping organizations ditch the checkbox mindset and build security strategies that actually work. Her training sessions are filled with memes, real-world stories, and just enough humor to keep people awake. She believes if you’re going to learn about phishing, you might as well laugh while you’re doing it.

She’s also a proud boy mom and a lifelong fan of 90s hip hop. Don’t be surprised if a Biggie lyric makes its way into her slide deck.