Previous Page  14 / 32 Next Page
Information
Show Menu
Previous Page 14 / 32 Next Page
Page Background

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:

11 |

July 2018

DoIT Newsletter

May 28, 2024