What is Social Engineering?

Has anybody ever tried to perform a social engineering attack on you?

  • Yes

    Votes: 9 33.3%
  • No

    Votes: 18 66.7%

  • Total voters
    27

SpartacusSystem

Level 7
Thread author
Verified
Well-known
Aug 6, 2015
306
A good read from the Webroot blog.

Social engineering is the art of manipulating people so they give up confidential information. The types of information these criminals are seeking can vary, but when individuals are targeted, the criminals are usually trying to trick you into giving them your passwords or bank information, or access your computer to secretly install malicious software which will give them access to said passwords and bank information as well as giving them control over your computer.

Cybercriminals use social engineering tactics because it is often easier to exploit your natural inclination to trust than it is to discover ways to hack your software. For example, it is much easier to fool someone into giving away their password than it is to hack their password (unless the password is really weak).

Security is all about knowing who and what to trust – Knowing when and when not to take a person at their word, when to trust that the person you are communicating with is indeed the person you think you are communicating with, when to trust that a website is or isn’t legitimate or when to trust that the person on the phone is or isn’t legitimate, and knowing when providing your information is or isn’t a good idea.

Ask any security professional and they will tell you that the weakest link in the security chain is the human who accepts a person or scenario at face value. Hypothetically speaking, it doesn’t matter how many locks and deadbolts are on your doors and windows, or how many alarm systems, floodlights, fences with barbed wire, and armed security personnel you have; if you trust the person at the gate who says he is the pizza delivery guy and you let him in without first checking to see if he is legitimate, you are completely exposed to whatever risk he represents.

Article continues about common social engineering attacks.
 
H

hjlbx

LOL... a lot of users don't/wouldn't spot a social engineering attack until after the fact. Even then, they might not suspect such an attack - even after it happened.

IF you get a lot of unsolicited e-mails - but delete all of them, then there is a high probability that you have been the victim of an attempted social engineering attack.
 

jamescv7

Level 85
Verified
Honorary Member
Mar 15, 2011
13,070
A typical user should aware on using adblocker to eliminate unnecessary content in the page.

But many users are not reading very well on the description even the link may be suspicious. In short happy go lucky/trigger happy.

However nowadays people must be smart enough, because the distribution of information as virus or whatever must be a warning for anyone who wants to click.
 

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