Social Engineering | Easy Vector To Attack
Introduction
Social engineering is an attack vector that can be used against any organization, large or small, and can be performed in a variety of ways. Social Engineering attacks are most commonly carried out over the phone or email but it is also possible for attackers to gain access by impersonating other individuals. These attacks are becoming more sophisticated and difficult to detect than ever before so it is vital for companies and individuals alike to take them seriously!
What is social engineering?
Social engineering is a type of attack that uses manipulation to get access to data or systems. It’s not a technical attack but a psychological one, so it can be carried out by anyone.
You can think of social engineering as the art of deception. The attacker will try to get you to give them something they want without realizing what’s happening—it could be your username, password, credit card number, or even your identity.
Such attacks may take place in person or over the phone (think: “Can I speak with your manager?”) or over email (for example: “We have reason to believe that our servers were infiltrated by hackers and we need to change passwords immediately.”). In fact, social engineers use many different methods depending on their target and goals; it’s important for businesses of all sizes (and even individuals) to understand how these attacks work so they can defend themselves against them!
Types of social engineering.
Social engineering is a form of attack that uses human interaction to gather information about an organization or individual for the purpose of exploiting them. This type of hacking has been around since the 1970s and it is still growing in popularity today.
- Social engineers build trust with their targets by pretending to be someone they are not, such as an employee or vendor at a company or even a friend from school. By using this tactic, they can get their victims to give up confidential information without even realizing what has happened until it’s too late. There are many different types of social engineering attacks, including:
- Human error attacks: these involve using human error as a way to steal data from an organization or individual. For example, someone may call an employee and tell them their password has expired so they need to give it up, or they could send a fake email with instructions on how to reset the account.
- Tailgating attacks: these involve someone following an authorized user into a restricted area and then stealing their credentials. For example, security guards may not check for badges when people are leaving the building at night, so someone who has stolen a badge could enter with them and steal their login information from there.
- Phishing: these are fake emails or websites designed to steal passwords. For example, an organization may send a message saying that there is an issue with their account, and they need to click a link or enter their password in order to fix it. This gives the attacker access to their account.
- Social engineering itself: these are attacks that exploit human nature or our trust of others. For example, someone may call an employee claiming to be from IT and say they need login credentials in order to fix an issue with their network connection.
How does Social Engineering work?
Social engineering is a type of attack that uses deception to gain access to information or data. The attacker may trick you into giving out sensitive information in person, over the phone or via email. Social engineering attacks are often carried out by tricking users into thinking they’re contacting someone from their company (like IT), when in fact they’re talking to an imposter with malicious intent. These attacks can happen to anyone; no matter how careful or security-conscious you are, it’s always possible that someone will try and fool you with a clever lie.
It’s important to be aware of social engineering attacks because they target people who are least likely to be suspicious of their intentions—new employees or customers for example! If your organization has many new employees or visitors each day then this makes it easy for an attacker to slip past defences undetected as they’ll blend right in with everyone else entering the building each day.
How can people stay safe from social engineering?
The best way to protect yourself from social engineering is to be wary of who you give personal information to. This includes passwords and any other important information. Be suspicious of emails and phone calls that ask for personal information, as well as messages that include links you are unsure of.
Always have a backup plan in case you think you may be under attack and know what to do if it happens. Trust your intuition when viewing a situation in person or online, such as if someone asks for too many details about something without giving much in return or if they ask for something that seems too good to be true (or just plain strange). If something does not feel right, report it immediately!
How do deep fakes and social engineering intersect?
Deep fakes represent a new type of social engineering attack, one that is more sophisticated and insidious than anything we’ve seen before. Because the deep fakes are so realistic, they have the capacity to manipulate people into doing things they wouldn’t normally do—and this could go beyond simply embarrassing someone on social media or getting them fired from their job.
Deep fakes could be used to impersonate someone in order to commit crimes or steal money from them by getting them to send it over wire transfers or by persuading them through phone calls where there’s no visual confirmation of who is really talking to you (think “Grandma” calling about her gift card).
The ability for anyone with any level of technical expertise to create deep fakes means that even if you’re able to detect something suspicious about an image, how do you know whether it’s real or fake? In fact, even if officials are able to determine that something is forged when there’s little doubt left as such (for instance: if someone has been identified as being alive but their photo appears dead), it’s almost impossible for most people without specialized knowledge around both visual arts and cybersecurity technology/methods necessary in detecting fake images; furthermore, even if all official channels were aware of these findings, they may not have time/resources available given other threats like terrorism which take precedence over investigating possible cases involving fraudulence based upon personal photos alone.”
How to detect a Social Engineering attack.
The first thing you should do is be aware of the different types of social engineering attacks and the ways they can happen. Once you are aware of these things, then you will be able to detect potential threats much easier and protect yourself from them.
Social Engineering is a very common attack vector, and it can happen to anyone at any time. There are some things that you can do in order to protect yourself against Social Engineering attacks though, so let’s go over those now:
A key part of your defence strategy is becoming familiar with the different types of Social Engineering attacks. This way, when someone tries one on you, you’ll already know what type it was so that way when reporting it later on (if necessary), there won’t be any confusion about what happened or how serious it was!
- The common types include phishing emails which try tricking people into giving up their credentials through fake login pages
- malware hidden inside legitimate software packages
- social engineering phone calls where someone calls pretending to be another company/person asking for personal information such as credit card numbers etc
- face-to-face meetings where someone pretends to be another person, or use a fake professional credential to make someone believe they are something other than they are.
Common defense against these attacks.
To protect yourself from social engineering attacks, it’s important to use common sense and be suspicious of anything that seems too good to be true.
If you receive a call or email from someone claiming to be an employee of your bank or credit card company, and they tell you that there’s a problem with your account and they need you to provide information or make changes right away, don’t do it. Legitimate companies will never ask for your personal information over the phone or via email.
If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from your bank or credit card company, ask for their name and then verify it with customer service. If you’re still not sure about the legitimacy of the request, hang up and call back using the contact information on your statement.
Takeaway: Social Engineering is an attack vector that should be taken seriously, these vectors are quite common and can take place in any organization at any time so it is vital for companies and individuals to take preventive measures against these attacks.
Social engineering is a vector that should be taken seriously, these vectors are quite common and can take place in any organization at any time so it is vital for companies and individuals to take preventive measures against these attacks.
Social engineering is a tactic that can be used to manipulate people into giving away private information that can be used against them. The goal of social engineering is simply to gain access to data by fooling people into thinking they are doing something useful while at the same time providing enough information so that it appears legitimate.
This is a very common tactic that can be used against both individuals and companies. Hackers will use social engineering to gather information from people in order to gain access to their systems or accounts. The most common form of social engineering is phishing, where an attacker may send an email that appears legitimate but actually contains malicious links or attachments.
Conclusion
Social engineering is a serious threat that must be taken seriously. Social Engineering attacks target people and their basic human nature to give in to pressure or requests, this makes them very effective at getting what they want from unsuspecting victims.
