Social engineering is the term used for a broad range of malicious activities accomplished through human interactions. It uses psychological manipulation to trick users into making security mistakes or giving away sensitive information. Show
Social engineering attacks happen in one or more steps. A perpetrator first investigates the intended victim to gather necessary background information, such as potential points of entry and weak security protocols, needed to proceed with the attack. Then, the attacker moves to gain the victim’s trust and provide stimuli for subsequent actions that break security practices, such as revealing sensitive information or granting access to critical resources.  Social Engineering Attack Lifecycle What makes social engineering especially dangerous is that it relies on human error, rather than vulnerabilities in software and operating systems. Mistakes made by legitimate users are much less predictable, making them harder to identify and thwart than a malware-based intrusion. Social engineering attack techniquesSocial engineering attacks come in many different forms and can be performed anywhere where human interaction is involved. The following are the five most common forms of digital social engineering assaults. BaitingAs its name implies, baiting attacks use a false promise to pique a victim’s greed or curiosity. They lure users into a trap that steals their personal information or inflicts their systems with malware. The most reviled form of baiting uses physical media to disperse malware. For example, attackers leave the bait—typically malware-infected flash drives—in conspicuous areas where potential victims are certain to see them (e.g., bathrooms, elevators, the parking lot of a targeted company). The bait has an authentic look to it, such as a label presenting it as the company’s payroll list. Victims pick up the bait out of curiosity and insert it into a work or home computer, resulting in automatic malware installation on the system. Baiting scams don’t necessarily have to be carried out in the physical world. Online forms of baiting consist of enticing ads that lead to malicious sites or that encourage users to download a malware-infected application. ScarewareScareware involves victims being bombarded with false alarms and fictitious threats. Users are deceived to think their system is infected with malware, prompting them to install software that has no real benefit (other than for the perpetrator) or is malware itself. Scareware is also referred to as deception software, rogue scanner software and fraudware. A common scareware example is the legitimate-looking popup banners appearing in your browser while surfing the web, displaying such text such as, “Your computer may be infected with harmful spyware programs.” It either offers to install the tool (often malware-infected) for you, or will direct you to a malicious site where your computer becomes infected. Scareware is also distributed via spam email that doles out bogus warnings, or makes offers for users to buy worthless/harmful services. PretextingHere an attacker obtains information through a series of cleverly crafted lies. The scam is often initiated by a perpetrator pretending to need sensitive information from a victim so as to perform a critical task. The attacker usually starts by establishing trust with their victim by impersonating co-workers, police, bank and tax officials, or other persons who have right-to-know authority. The pretexter asks questions that are ostensibly required to confirm the victim’s identity, through which they gather important personal data. All sorts of pertinent information and records is gathered using this scam, such as social security numbers, personal addresses and phone numbers, phone records, staff vacation dates, bank records and even security information related to a physical plant. PhishingAs one of the most popular social engineering attack types, phishing scams are email and text message campaigns aimed at creating a sense of urgency, curiosity or fear in victims. It then prods them into revealing sensitive information, clicking on links to malicious websites, or opening attachments that contain malware. An example is an email sent to users of an online service that alerts them of a policy violation requiring immediate action on their part, such as a required password change. It includes a link to an illegitimate website—nearly identical in appearance to its legitimate version—prompting the unsuspecting user to enter their current credentials and new password. Upon form submittal the information is sent to the attacker. Given that identical, or near-identical, messages are sent to all users in phishing campaigns, detecting and blocking them are much easier for mail servers having access to threat sharing platforms. Spear phishingThis is a more targeted version of the phishing scam whereby an attacker chooses specific individuals or enterprises. They then tailor their messages based on characteristics, job positions, and contacts belonging to their victims to make their attack less conspicuous. Spear phishing requires much more effort on behalf of the perpetrator and may take weeks and months to pull off. They’re much harder to detect and have better success rates if done skillfully. A spear phishing scenario might involve an attacker who, in impersonating an organization’s IT consultant, sends an email to one or more employees. It’s worded and signed exactly as the consultant normally does, thereby deceiving recipients into thinking it’s an authentic message. The message prompts recipients to change their password and provides them with a link that redirects them to a malicious page where the attacker now captures their credentials. See how Imperva Web Application Firewall can help you with social engineering attacks. Social engineering preventionSocial engineers manipulate human feelings, such as curiosity or fear, to carry out schemes and draw victims into their traps. Therefore, be wary whenever you feel alarmed by an email, attracted to an offer displayed on a website, or when you come across stray digital media lying about. Being alert can help you protect yourself against most social engineering attacks taking place in the digital realm. Moreover, the following tips can help improve your vigilance in relation to social engineering hacks.
The most common form of social engineering attack is phishing. Phishing attacks exploit human error to harvest credentials or spread malware, usually via infected email attachments or links to malicious websites. What is social engineering attack example?Examples of social engineering range from phishing attacks where victims are tricked into providing confidential information, vishing attacks where an urgent and official sounding voice mail convinces victims to act quickly or suffer severe consequences, or physical tailgating attacks that rely on trust to gain … How common are social engineering attacks?According to a 2018 study, 17 percent of people fall victim to social engineering attacks. That means that close to two out of every ten employees you have will unwittingly compromise his or her workstation, or get the entire company’s network in trouble. Which of the following is a common social engineering attack?Phishing attacks are the most common type of attacks leveraging social engineering techniques. Attackers use emails, social media, instant messaging and SMS to trick victims into providing sensitive information or visiting malicious URLs in the attempt to compromise their systems. What is the most successful social engineering attack?1. $100 Million Google and Facebook Spear Phishing Scam. The biggest social engineering attack of all time (as far as we know) was perpetrated by Lithuanian national Evaldas Rimasauskas against two of the world’s biggest companies: Google and Facebook. What are the 4 types of social engineering?
What is the best defense against social engineering attacks?
What are two types of social engineering attacks?
What are the types of social engineering attacks?
Which best defines social engineering?Social engineering is a manipulation technique that exploits human error to gain private information, access, or valuables. … As such, social engineering attacks are especially useful for manipulating a user’s behavior. Which of the following is the most effective countermeasure to social engineering?The most effective countermeasure for social engineering is employee awareness training on how to recognize social engineering schemes and how to respond appropriately. Which of the following is the best example of reverse social engineering?When a hacker pretends to be a person in authority to get a user tell them information, it is an example of reverse social engineering. What is the primary countermeasure to social engineering?What is the primary countermeasure to social engineering? … 1) Educate employees on the risks and countermeasures. 2) Publish and enforce clearly-written security policies. Who is the most notable social engineer?Kevin David Mitnick is a well known name in the world of security. His past includes a variety of social engineering exploits and hacks that led to the security breach of numerous Fortune 500 companies, as well as federal and state agencies. Which is the most attacked domain?NEW DELHI: India saw the highest number of domain name system or DNS attacks in 2020 with 12.13 attacks per organisation, even though the cost of attacks in the country decreased by 6.08% to ₹5.97 crores, said International Data Corporation or IDC’s DNS Threat Report. What are some warning signs of social engineering?
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What is the primary countermeasure to social engineering?
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