KrebsOnSecurity.com celebrates its 12th anniversary today! Maybe “celebrate” is too indelicate a word for a year wracked by the global pandemics of COVID-19 and ransomware. Especially since stories about both have helped to grow the audience here tremendously in 2021. But this site’s birthday also is a welcome opportunity to thank you all for your continued readership and support, which helps keep the content here free to everyone.
More than seven million unique visitors came to KrebsOnSecurity.com in 2021, generating some 12 million+ pageviews and leaving almost 8,000 comments. We also now have nearly 50,000 subscribers to our email newsletter, which is still just a text-based (non-HTML) email that goes out each time a new story is published here (~2-3 times a week).
Back when this site first began 12 years ago, I never imagined it would attract such a level of engagement. Before launching KrebsOnSecurity, I was a tech reporter for washingtonpost.com. For many years, The Post’s website was physically, financially and editorially separate from what the dot-com employees affectionately called “The Dead Tree Edition.” When the two newsrooms finally merged in 2009, my position was eliminated.
Happily, the blog I authored for four years at washingtonpost.com — Security Fix — had attracted a sizable readership, and it seemed clear that the worldwide appetite for in-depth news about computer security and cybercrime would become practically insatiable in the coming years.
Happier still, The Post offered a severance package equal to six months of my salary. Had they not thrown that lifeline, I doubt I’d have had the guts to go it alone. But at the time, my wife basically said I had six months to make this “blog thing” work, or else find a “real job.”
God bless her eternal patience with my adopted occupation, because KrebsOnSecurity has helped me avoid finding a real job for a dozen years now. And hopefully they let me keep doing this, because at this point I’m certainly unqualified to do much else.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to remind Dear Readers that advertisers do help keep the content free here to everyone. For security and privacy reasons, KrebsOnSecurity does not host any third-party content on this site — and this includes the ad creatives, which are simply images or GIFs vetted by Yours Truly and served directly from krebsonsecurity.com.
That’s a long-winded way of asking: If you regularly visit KrebsOnSecurity.com with an ad blocker, please consider adding an exception for this site.
Thanks again, Dear Readers. Please stay safe, healthy and alert in 2022. See you on the other side!
Over the years, I have enjoyed your posts and Blogs. Keep it coming… Thank you KerbsonSecurity!
Washington Post’s loss is our gain. Thanks for another year of great content and incisive reporting, carried out at no little risk to yourself!
Congratulations on your 12th anniversary! You’re providing a great service and I appreciate your writing. I’m grateful for krebsonsecurity[dot]com and also for the interesting comments from other readers.
Congratulations Brian. I am a non-computer person and you are able to explain things so even an old man like me can understand and appreciate. Keep up the good work and thank yo so very much.
The best security site on the web still allows the tracker fonts.googleapis.com to load when I shut off my ad blocker; so the ad blocker stays on for now.
Congratulations Brian. You write with clarity, in depth and report what the media is afraid to touch. As a broadcast engineer I know this from my personal experience. Behind every good man is a understanding woman.
Many happy returns! You are always a must-read for me, an expert I turn to, and an inspiration for running one’s own editorial operation!
Is it reall 12 years ago I read your last Wahsington Post blog? I was gobsmacked when I thought I was losing such a great resource. I’m so glad you’ve been able to not only survive but thrive and continue to put out quality content. Keep up the great work and hears to another 12 years, at least.
Thank You Brian for 12 years of education. Although I’m not a tech person I’ve learned a great deal over these years and loved your 1st book (hint hint) and many fascinating adventures. Stay Safe & Strong!
Congrats, Brian! You’ve worked hard and earned this success.
Thanks for your valuable, in-depth reporting. I have made sure to share your articles with others in the industry. Best wishes to you and yours in the new year!
Good tip to unblock ads. These banners remind me of a simpler time on the web. Before “punch the monkey” changed everything.
Thanks for the reminder to unblock ads. Congratulations on a quality 12 years.
Yeah playa! Congratulations, much admiration.
Thank you Brian. I onlu started reading your blogs since I had the privilege to retire the first time. You’ve kept us all up-to-date on news and advice and have used it within the charity I am now a director of to help keep it’s systems safe. Here’s to the next 12
Thanks WaPo for the 6-month severance, enablingp Brian to set the standard for independent cybersecurity reporting that makes news and keeps us informed.
Way to go, Brian! It’s been a hellava ride so far. Looking for another great 12 years right here, so keep up the great work.
Here’s hoping 2022 is healthier for everyone than 21 was!
Well done Brian. I just hope you make the leap from page ads to NFT’s or bobbleheads or T-shirts!
Turning off adblocking is so off-brand even as I believe you actually do vet your ads with eyeballs,
I’d much rather overpay grossly for that bobblehead! But you don’t ask much for what we get here.
Continued success and minimal eyestrain to you in the new year, rapacious monger Mr. Krebson!
A single entry whitelist I can learn to live with – Thanks for keeping it interesting all this time.
Great work, Brian, keep it up. If you didn’t post here I’d miss you.
Thank you for an excellent website. Since you asked, I am more than happy to disable my add blocker for your site. Not something I would do for most sites. Best to you and yours for 2022 and beyond.
Thank you for all your hard work and input into field. I subscribed to newsletter. Im dev going into sec now, but ive been visiting from time to time since that ddos. Again, best wishes for new year and for “birthday” and please do continue amazing work youre doing 🙂
Thank you for your passionate, informative and compelling journalism. There are very few people who have earned more credibility in this space than you. As somebody who has been in cyber for 24 years myself, I can honestly say you are the best I have come across by a long shot
Congratulations! Your website has helped me on my job a lot!
Happy birthday! Thank you for all of your hard work and in depth reporting over the years!
Congrats on 12 years of not working a “real job” and doing what you are uniquely qualified to do.
Thank you for this website and your incredible service to the public by bringing into our (the layman’s) zone of understanding what would otherwise remain abstract technical jargon!
Congratulations on reaching your 12th anniversary and thanks for your ongoing fine reporting, Brian.
Best wishes for the next 12….
Congrats, Brian. I consider your site *necessary*, and recommend it frequently.
Congratulations, Brian! I’ve been reading your blog since 2011 when you were investigating ChronoPay’s scareware.
My ad-blocker (uBlock Origin) decided on its own a long time ago to never block any ads on this site. Mainly because they aren’t hosted by other sites, link to 3rd party content, link to Facebook, Twitter, etc., other tracking sites and are not just plain obnoxious. Yet it blocks lots of things on most other sites. Conclusion: if everyone lived to your ad standards, we wouldn’t need ad-blockers! Congratulations, thank you, and yes, don’t you want to write another book soon?