Nathan Brossard

Nathan Brossard covers cybersecurity and digital privacy for BitsFromBytes from Austin, Texas, where he runs a small consultancy advising independent businesses on practical security hygiene. Before going freelance in 2020, he spent six years as a security analyst at a regional US bank investigating phishing campaigns and credential-theft attacks against employees and customers. He holds a CISSP certification and still does hands-on penetration testing for clients between writing assignments. Nathan tests every VPN, password manager, and antivirus he reviews on his own devices for a minimum of two weeks before drafting anything. He is particularly interested in the gap between what security vendors promise and what normal users actually experience when they install the software. His writing tries to close that gap honestly, without the marketing language and without the fear-mongering that dominates the cybersecurity press. When he is not testing security products, he collects vintage mechanical watches and runs half-marathons along the Colorado River trail in central Austin.
VPN, antivirus, password managers, data breaches, privacy tools, identity theft, home network security

Best Virus Protection Software in 2026 — What Holds Up Engine-sharing map, renewal price trap data, and picks by use case — the antivirus roundup that shows what survives year two.
Best Virus Protection Software in 2026 — What Actually Holds Up AfterCybersecurity

Best Virus Protection Software in 2026 — What Actually Holds Up After

Nathan BrossardNathan BrossardMay 1, 2026
Best Identity Theft Protection 2026 7 identity theft protection services ranked for 2026 — with insurance fine print decoded, ownership conflicts disclosed, and the free alternatives most guides ignore.
Best Identity Theft Protection Services 2026: Ranked After Reading the Fine PrintCybersecurity

Best Identity Theft Protection Services 2026: Ranked After Reading the Fine Print

Nathan BrossardNathan BrossardApril 29, 2026
Phishing Statistics 2026: Email, SMS & Social Attack Data Verified phishing statistics for 2026: FBI IC3 losses, APWG attack volumes, Verizon DBIR click rates, smishing growth, AI phishing data. Primary sources, labeled.
Phishing Statistics 2026: Email, SMS & Social AttacksCybersecurity

Phishing Statistics 2026: Email, SMS & Social Attacks

Nathan BrossardNathan BrossardApril 28, 2026
Cybersecurity Statistics 2026: 150+ Facts & Trends 157 sourced cybersecurity statistics for 2026 — breach costs, ransomware figures, phishing data, and workforce gaps from IBM, Verizon, FBI IC3, and WEF.
Cybersecurity Statistics 2026: 150+ Facts, Costs & TrendsCybersecurity

Cybersecurity Statistics 2026: 150+ Facts, Costs & Trends

Nathan BrossardNathan BrossardApril 27, 2026
Identity Theft Statistics 2026: Cases, Losses & Trends 1.1M FTC reports. $12.5B in fraud losses. 72% of victims hit multiple times. Identity theft statistics for 2026 drawn entirely from FTC, FBI IC3, and ITRC primary sources.
Identity Theft Statistics 2026: Cases, Losses, and Trends From Primary SourcesCybersecurity

Identity Theft Statistics 2026: Cases, Losses, and Trends From Primary Sources

Nathan BrossardNathan BrossardApril 27, 2026
Data Breach Statistics 2026: Costs, Records & Industries The US hit a record 3,322 data breaches in 2025 while breach costs fell globally — but hit an all-time US high of $10.22M. Here's what the primary reports actually show.
Data Breach Statistics 2026: Records, Costs, and Industry BreakdownCybersecurity

Data Breach Statistics 2026: Records, Costs, and Industry Breakdown

Nathan BrossardNathan BrossardApril 27, 2026
Antivirus Real-World Detection Test Q1 2026 (Quarterly) — AV-TEST & AV-Comparatives Antivirus Detection Test Q1 2026: Results From AV-TEST & AV-Comparatives
Antivirus Real-World Detection Test Q1 2026 (Quarterly) — AV-TEST & AV-ComparativesCybersecurity

Antivirus Real-World Detection Test Q1 2026 (Quarterly) — AV-TEST & AV-Comparatives

Nathan BrossardNathan BrossardApril 27, 2026
Ransomware Statistics 2026: Attacks, Costs & Trends Ransomware is in 44% of all breaches. Payments fell to $813M but total damage hit $57B — a 70-to-1 ratio. Here are the authoritative 2026 ransomware statistics from Verizon, FBI, IBM, and Sophos.
Ransomware Statistics 2026: Attacks, Costs, and the 70-to-1 Ratio Nobody Talks AboutCybersecurity

Ransomware Statistics 2026: Attacks, Costs, and the 70-to-1 Ratio Nobody Talks About

Nathan BrossardNathan BrossardApril 27, 2026
VPN Awards 2026: VPN Speed & Privacy Awards 2026 Winners by Category Best VPN 2026
The 2026 VPN Speed & Privacy Awards: Category Winners, Audit Records, and Three DisqualificationsCybersecurity

The 2026 VPN Speed & Privacy Awards: Category Winners, Audit Records, and Three Disqualifications

Nathan BrossardNathan BrossardApril 27, 2026
VPN Statistics 2026: Market Size, Usage & Trends 1.75 billion VPN users, an $86B market — and 65% of enterprises replacing VPNs with Zero Trust. Here are the VPN statistics that explain both sides of the split in 2026.
VPN Statistics 2026: The Market Is Growing and Enterprises Are Running Away from ItCybersecurity

VPN Statistics 2026: The Market Is Growing and Enterprises Are Running Away from It

Nathan BrossardNathan BrossardApril 27, 2026