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Social Engineering
What is Social Engineering?
Social Engineering attacks are much easier to implement than you
think
Types of Social Engineering Attacks
Social Engineering is a term originally connected to social sciences, but it has now
found applications in the field of computer and information security. It is a type of
non-technical attacks, where it is not necessary to compromise a system or software.
Unlike with other technical attacks, social engineers rely on human interactions to fool
users. They can reach their goals by infecting their victim’s computer with malware,
manipulating them into disclosing their confidential data, or tricking them to open
infected sites using a URL link. As a result, legitimate and authorized access to confiden-
tial information can be given to the attacker.
Social engineering criminals use many ways to launch an attack, be it on a building or
a computer system. Either way, they rely primarily on the human tendency to trust. For
example, an attacker may get access to a secure building just by asking someone to ket
him in. On te other hand, he can pretend to be a co-worker and have an urgent need to
gain access to network resources to solve it, or just fool a victim to give him the pass-
word rather than try to hack his machine. These two examples show clearly that the
human element is the weakest link in the security chain.
Social engineering attacks can take many forms, depending on the medium used such
as email, web, phone, or portable drives. The most common types of social engineering
techniques are:
Social engineering attacks can take many forms, depending on the medium used such
as email, web, phone, or portable drives. The most common types of social engineering
techniques are:
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July 2018
DoIT Newsletter