What is Social Engineering?
Social engineering is the art of manipulating people into divulging confidential information, performing actions, or otherwise compromising their security. Unlike hacking into a computer system, social engineering exploits human psychology and behavior, often tricking individuals into willingly providing information or performing actions that can lead to data breaches, financial loss, or other forms of harm.
It’s well-recognized that your people play a fundamental role in protecting the enterprise from malicious threats. The consequences of inadvertently opening the doors – both digital and physical – to cyber attackers can be wide-ranging, from short-term operational disruption to serious, long-term reputational damage.
Failing to address the human element of cyber risk exposure could rapidly undermine your technical defenses. Security assessments that incorporate social engineering are designed to reveal how well your staff follow company policies and procedures, highlighting where you need to adapt or refresh security processes to mitigate risk.
What we do
The precise scope of our industry-leading social engineering assessments can be tailored to your business, but the overall goal is to test how easily we can gain privileges and access to your systems, information and premises.
We test your susceptibility using a variety of techniques such as phishing attacks, Trojan viruses, phone phishing and attempting to gain unauthorized physical access. You will gain answers to questions such as: Would a member of staff share their password with a stranger posing as an auditor? Will employees hold the door open for someone wearing an ID badge without checking its authenticity?
The result is a comprehensive report that may make for uncomfortable reading but should provide a springboard to much-improved risk mitigation.
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TYPES OF SOCIAL ENGINEERING ATTACKS
Phishing
Phishing involves sending deceptive emails or messages that appear to be from a trusted source, aiming to trick recipients into revealing sensitive information, such as passwords or credit card numbers.
Pretexting
In pretexting, attackers create a fabricated scenario or pretext to manipulate individuals into divulging information or performing actions they wouldn’t under normal circumstances.
Baiting
Baiting involves offering something enticing, such as a free download or USB drive, infected with malware. Once the victim interacts with the bait, the attacker gains access to the victim’s system.
Quid Pro Quo
Attackers promise something in return for information or assistance. For instance, an attacker might pose as technical support and offer to fix a non-existent problem in exchange for login credentials.
Tailgating
Tailgating occurs when an attacker gains physical access to a restricted area by following an authorized person. This can happen in office settings or secured facilities.
Impersonation
Attackers impersonate authority figures, coworkers, or other trusted individuals to manipulate victims into revealing sensitive information or performing actions.
Phishing
Phishing involves sending deceptive emails or messages that appear to be from a trusted source, aiming to trick recipients into revealing sensitive information, such as passwords or credit card numbers.
Pretexting
In pretexting, attackers create a fabricated scenario or pretext to manipulate individuals into divulging information or performing actions they wouldn’t under normal circumstances.
Baiting
Baiting involves offering something enticing, such as a free download or USB drive, infected with malware. Once the victim interacts with the bait, the attacker gains access to the victim’s system.
Quid Pro Quo
Attackers promise something in return for information or assistance. For instance, an attacker might pose as technical support and offer to fix a non-existent problem in exchange for login credentials.
Tailgating
Tailgating occurs when an attacker gains physical access to a restricted area by following an authorized person. This can happen in office settings or secured facilities.
Impersonation
Attackers impersonate authority figures, coworkers, or other trusted individuals to manipulate victims into revealing sensitive information or performing actions.
Mitigation and preventative
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Implement MFA to add an extra layer of security, even if an attacker gains access to login credentials.
- Employee Training: Regularly educate employees about the various forms of social engineering attacks and how to recognize and respond to them.
- Strong Password Policies: Enforce strong password practices to minimize the risk of unauthorized access.
- Awareness Campaigns : Regularly raise awareness about social engineering among employees and the general public.
- Incident Response Plans: Develop plans to quickly respond to and recover from social engineering incidents.
HOW WE WORK
We deliver the whole spectrum of cybersecurity services, from long-term, enterprise wide strategy and implementation projects to single penetration tests.
Our team works with you to identify and assess your organization’s vulnerabilities, define enterprise-wide goals, and advise how best to achieve them.
Our recommendations are clear, concise, pragmatic and tailored to your organization.
Independent, unbiased, personalized – this is how we define our services. We guide you to spend wisely and invest in change efficiently.
Find out how we can help with your cyber challenge
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