Social Engineering In Cybersecurity
Social engineering is one of the most dangerous forms of cybercrime today. Unlike traditional hacking, social engineering doesn’t rely on code, as it relies on human error. Cybercriminals manipulate employees into giving away passwords, downloading malware, or handing over sensitive data.
What is Social Engineering?
Social engineering is a cyberattack strategy where hackers trick people into revealing confidential information or performing risky actions. These attacks are often attempted through:
Phishing Emails
Phone Calls
SMS Text Messages
Baiting
What is the social engineer’s goal? Access company data, financials, or company systems by hacking people rather than software.
Why Does Social Engineering Work?
Cybercriminals often inject fear, urgency and trust in order for their scams to work.
88% of all data breaches are due to human error
Most employees aren’t trained for cybersecurity
Attacks are often disguised as legitimate business requests
Common Social Engineering Techniques
Phishing Emails
Phishing emails can range from fake bank messages and account updates, to someone disguised as the CEO requesting information.
Spear Phishing
Spear phishing emails are often targeted towards a person within the company, with personal info such as names and roles.
Pre-Texting
Pretexting involves the criminal texting employees pretending to be someone of authority in order to gain access to company information.
Baiting
Baiting involves someone completing an action within the office, such as plugging in faulty USB sticks, and scanning QR codes left around the office by the attacker.
Vishing (voice phishing)
Vishing involves the attacker calling or leaving voicemails pretending to be someone of higher authority.
BEC
Business email compromise (BEC) is when a user’s email becomes compromised in order for the attacker to pose as an employee.
How To Prevent Social Engineering Attacks
Cybersecurity Awareness Training
Teach your employees how to identify threats to avoid a social engineering attack.
Strong Passwords
Use 25 character alpha numeric passwords unique for each application.
Utilize MFA/2FA
Even if your strong passwords become stolen, MFA provides a barrier.
Verify Requests
Baiting involves someone completing an action within the office, such as plugging in faulty USB sticks, and scanning QR codes left around the office by the attacker.
Phishing Simulations
Test your employees with real world simulations to see how they handle online threats.
Update Software
Ensure software is updated on a regular basis and implement proper role based user access.
Why Social Engineering Training Should be Mandatory
Every business regardless of its size is a target for social engineering. A good cybersecurity training platform can reduce your company’s risk by 50%. Social engineering is something that is easy to deploy, relatively hard to detect without proper training, and devastating if successful.