What is Social Engineering?

Social engineering attacks trick people into revealing information, downloading software, accessing websites, transferring money to criminals, or making other mistakes that risk their personal or organisational security.

This activity can take various forms, including an email that appears to be from a reliable colleague requesting sensitive information, a malicious voicemail claiming to be from the authorities, and too-good-to-be-true offers from a foreign leader.

Moreover, as social engineering employs psychological manipulation and targets human error or weakness rather than technical or digital system flaws, it is frequently referred to as “human hacking.”

Cybercriminals regularly leverage social engineering techniques to get personal or financial information, such as login credentials, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, and Social Security numbers.

They use the stolen information to commit identity theft, such as making purchases with other people’s money or credit, applying for loans in someone else’s name, applying for other people’s unemployment benefits, and more. However, threat actors can also use a social engineering attack as a vector to execute a large-scale cyberattack.

Social engineering appeals to cyber criminals because it allows them to gain access to digital networks, devices, and accounts without undergoing technical processes like bypassing firewalls, AV software, and other cybersecurity protections.

Furthermore, this hacking technique’s methods are based on the science of human motivation. It manipulates a victim’s emotions and instincts in ways that have been shown to lead to actions that are disadvantageous to their well-being.

Methods of an Effective Social Engineering Attack

1. Scammers frequently imitate or “spoof” companies that victims are familiar with, trust, and may do business with on a regular basis. This established connection has allowed hackers to infect their targets, as these targets automatically accept instructions from these brands without taking the necessary precautions.
2. Some social engineering scammers utilise freely available tools to create phoney websites that seem like those of prominent brands or companies. This technique is one of the most well-known examples of social engineering, as it leverages the human nature of wanting easily acquirable assets. This form of social engineering attack can also come from an alleged authority person and instil a sense of urgency, which is a potent combination.
3. Social engineering schemes can also appeal to victims’ good intentions. For example, a message purporting to be from a friend or a social networking site may offer technical assistance, request participation in a survey, claim that the recipients’ post has gone viral, and send a fake link to a phoney website or malware download.

Types of Social Engineering Attacks

1. Phishing: Phishing attacks are messages that attempt to trick receivers into disclosing sensitive information, downloading dangerous software, transferring money or assets to the wrong individuals, or engaging in other harmful activities.
2. Baiting: Baiting entices victims into deliberately or inadvertently disclosing sensitive information or downloading harmful malware by promising a desirable offer or even a valued product.
3. Tailgating: Tailgating, sometimes known as “piggybacking,” involves an unauthorised person closely following an authorised person into an area containing sensitive information or valuable assets.
4. Pretexting: In pretexting, the threat actor fabricates a scenario for the victim and poses as the appropriate person to handle it. The fraudster commonly says that the victim has been affected by a security breach and then promises to fix it if the victim provides critical account information or control over the victim’s computer or device.
5. Scareware: Scareware is software that exploits fear to force people into revealing sensitive information or downloading malicious software. It frequently takes the form of a bogus law enforcement notice charging the user of a crime or a bogus tech support message warning the user about an infection on their system.
6. Watering hole attack: Hackers typically use threatening phrases to introduce malicious code onto a genuine web page visited by their targets. Watering hole attacks essentially could cause everything, from compromised passwords to unintentional drive-by ransomware downloads.

Social engineering campaigns have become a huge threat to various organisations globally as they directly compromise manpower. Therefore, organisations should be more hands-on in providing employees with knowledge about these threats to avoid unwanted events.

How can iZOOlogic help my Company or Organisation?

Find out how iZOOlogic can provide protection against social engineering attacks through our Incident Response services.

To find out more about how iZOOlogic can help protect your company’s cyber security, schedule a demo.