Social Engineering

One of the biggest weaknesses in any organization’s cybersecurity strategy is human error. Social engineering attacks take advantage of this vulnerability by conning unsuspecting people into compromising security and giving out sensitive information. Attackers use various psychological hacks to trick you into trusting them or create a false sense of urgency and anxiety to lower your natural defenses. Attackers can then breach your physical or technological security to steal money or confidential information.

The only way to prevent being targeted by social engineering is to study the methods,psychological triggers, and technological tools these attackers use. Scammers use many different types of social engineering attacks, but some common giveaways can help you spot and avoid them. Some of the social engineering attacks are listed below:

1. Phishing

Phishing is the most common type of social engineering attack, typically using spoofed email addresses and links to trick people into providing login credentials, credit card numbers, or other personal information. Variations of phishing attacks include:

● Angler phishing — using spoofed customer service accounts on social media
● Spear phishing — phishing attacks that target specific organizations or individuals

2. Whaling

Whaling is another common variation of phishing that specifically targets top-level business executives and the heads of government agencies. Whaling attacks usually spoof the email addresses of other high-ranking people in the company or agency and contain urgent messaging about a fake emergency or time-sensitive opportunity. Successful whaling attacks can expose a lot of confidential, sensitive information due to the high-level network access these executives and directors have.

3. Baiting

Baiting is a type of social engineering attack that lures victims into providing sensitive information or credentials by promising something of value for free. For example, the victim receives an email that promises a free gift card if they click a link to take a survey. The link might redirect them to a spoofed Office 365 login page that captures their email address and password and sends them to a malicious actor.

4. Pretexting

Pretexting is a fairly sophisticated type of social engineering attack in which a scammer creates a pretext or fabricated scenario — pretending to be an IRS auditor, for example — to con someone into providing sensitive personal or financial information, such as their social security number. In this type of attack, someone can also physically acquire access to your data by pretending to be a vendor, delivery driver, or contractor to gain your staff’s trust.

5. SMS Phishing

SMS phishing is becoming a much larger problem as more organizations embrace texting as a primary method of communication. In one method of SMS phishing, scammers send text messages that spoof multi-factor authentication requests and redirect victims to malicious web pages that collect their credentials or install malware on their phones.

6. Scareware

Scareware is a form of social engineering in which a scammer inserts malicious code into a webpage that causes pop-up windows with flashing colors and alarming sounds to appear.These pop-up windows will falsely alert you to a virus that’s been installed on your system. You’ll be told to purchase and download their security software, and the scammers will either steal your credit card information, install real viruses on your system, or (most likely) both.

7. Tailgating/Piggybacking

Tailgating, also known as piggybacking, is a social engineering tactic in which an attacker physically follows someone into a secure or restricted area. Sometimes the scammer will pretend they forgot their access card, or they’ll engage someone in an animated conversation on their way into the area so their lack of authorized identification goes unnoticed.

8. Watering Hole

In a watering hole attack, a hacker infects a legitimate website that their targets are known to visit. Then, when their chosen victims log into the site, the hacker either captures their credentials and uses them to breach the target’s network, or they install a backdoor trojan to access the network.

How to protect from social engineering attacks?

A company has a lot at stake when it comes to social engineering attacks. These scams could bring operations to a screeching halt, dig into finances, or create reputational damage that requires a long recovery. That’s why it’s essential to address social engineering from a few different angles.

To protect yourself or your business from social engineering, consider the following steps:

1. If you see or receive something suspicious, take it slow and do your research. Be sure to stop and check the sender’s email address, search for the organization’s official webpage

2. Ensure security of your personal and office devices by using antivirus, enabling email filters etc

3. Train employees on social engineering attacks

4. Update software’s regularly

5. Always backup sensitive data

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