How Social Engineering Works and How to Avoid It

Most companies are aware of cyberattacks and have invested substantially in security measures to reduce threats. Despite this, there is still a human element in the digital realm. Attackers circumvent the security layer by exploiting human faults within businesses. A social engineering attack involves hacking a human.

Attacks based on social engineering techniques have been used since long before the widespread use of computers and the internet. However, The most extreme social engineering cases don't have to be looked for in ancient history.

Now is the time for businesses to start doing the necessary research and making use of the proper tools in order to remain one step ahead of those who commit fraud.

In this blog post, let us understand what social engineering is and how to protect ourselves from falling for the most prevalent forms of social engineering.

What is Social Engineering?

"Social engineering" refers to various malevolent operations via human relationships. It uses deception and trickery to get users to make potentially dangerous security mistakes or reveal private information.

The process of social engineering might consist of only one step or numerous steps. Before launching an assault, a criminal would research the target to learn vital details, such as access ways and security flaws. Next, the attacker takes steps to earn the victim's confidence and presents opportunities for them to do further activities that violate security protocols, such as disclosing private information or allowing access to restricted areas.

Social Engineering Attack Techniques

Here's a brief rundown of social engineering scams targeting contemporary businesses and people.

Phishing

Phishing is the most popular and influential social engineering technique. The fraudster employs guile and deception through email, chat, online ads, or websites to get the victim to provide sensitive information. 

The fraudster may pose as someone from an institution the victim has come to trust, such as a bank, government agency, or large enterprise. The origin might be an email inviting the recipient to click a link to access their account. They are then taken to a bogus but convincingly designed website, where the assault is launched.

Scareware

In the case of scareware, victims are inundated with bogus warnings and supposed dangers that do not exist. By making users believe their computer is afflicted with malware, cybercriminals may trick them into downloading and installing malicious software or useless applications. Scareware is deceptive software that uses many other names, including rogue scanning and fraudware. 

A typical kind of scareware is innocuous-looking popup ads that show in your browser while you're online and warn you that. It will either offer to install the utility or lead you to a dangerous website.

Spam emails also spread scareware by delivering false security alerts or convincing recipients to purchase useless or malicious software.

Baiting

Attacks that rely on baiting are designed to exploit their targets' natural tendencies to be greedy or curious. In doing so, they trick people into falling into a trap set up to collect sensitive data or infect the user's computer with malware.

Physical media baiting is particularly detested because of the virus it spreads. For example, attackers often place the bait, consisting of malware-infected flash drives, in obvious spots where victims are likely to encounter them. The bait has the appearance of being genuine, including elements such as a label that claims to reflect the company's payroll list.

Curiosity leads victims to insert the bait into a computer at work or home, where malware is automatically installed.

A successful baiting deception does not need the presence of the real world. One kind of internet fraud known as "baiting" uses deceptively enticing adverts to mislead users into visiting malicious websites or installing malware-infected software.

Pretexting

In this scenario, an adversary gathers intelligence by telling falsehoods. The scammer may approach the victim by professing to require private information to complete an urgent assignment.

The attacker often gains the victim's confidence by pretending to be someone they know and trust, such as a coworker, police officer, bank employee, or tax collector. By making inquiries that seem to be required in order to authenticate the identity of the victim, the pretext may get sensitive information.

This fraud may be used to steal sensitive information such as social security numbers, home addresses, employee contact information, dates of vacation, account numbers, and even information on the physical security of a building.

Spear phishing

In this more focused type of phishing scam, the attacker chooses certain people or companies to target. Then, to make their assault less prominent, they modify their communications depending on their victims' traits, positions, and connections. Spear phishing is far more complex and might take weeks or months to complete. If done well, they're significantly more difficult to detect and have higher success rates.

An attacker using spear phishing could email one or more workers pretending to be the company's IT consultant. The consultant's signature and wording fool the receiver into believing it's legitimate correspondence. Users are encouraged to visit a fraudulent website by clicking on a link provided in the message that brings them to the location of the website. After then, the attacker has a chance of obtaining the users' credentials.

Tailgating

When a person not authorized to enter a restricted location physically circumvents the security measures to gain access, this is known as tailgating.

For instance, a potential perpetrator may start a conversation with a staff member in the building's lobby or parking lot, then use the resulting familiarity to access the office building and get through the receptionist.

Tips to Prevent Social Engineering

Curiosity and dread are two emotions that social engineers use to lure people into their traps. 

Therefore, be cautious anytime an email scares you, a website's offer piques your interest, or you find a random piece of digital material lying about. 

Being aware of your surroundings is the best against digital social engineering attempts. In addition, the following tips might help you be more vigilant against social engineering attacks.

Modify your email's spam settings

Changing your email's security settings is one of the simplest things you can do to protect yourself from social engineering attacks. You should tighten your spam filters to avoid falling victim to social engineering scam emails. You should also get acquainted with the steps involved in setting up spam filters in your email client and read our instructions on blocking spam communications.

You may also immediately add the email addresses of trustworthy individuals and organizations to your digital contact lists, making it easy to spot any future attempts at social engineering by someone posing as them but using a fake email address.

Avoid opening emails and files from unknown 

You don't have to respond if you don't recognize the sender's email address. Verify information from many sources, including the telephone and the service provider's website, even if it comes from someone you know and trust. 

Never assume the sender of an email is who they claim to be; even if it seems to have come from someone you know and trust, it might have been sent by a hacker.

Use Multi-Factor Authentication

The majority of efforts at social engineering include gaining access to the target's computer network by increasing the target's privileges in order to do so. 

By requiring more than just a login and password to gain entry, multi-factor authentication like two-factor authentication increases the likelihood of thwarting social engineering attempts before they succeed. That’s why having solid security software is also crucial nowadays. 

Monitor Critical Systems 24/7

Make sure your vital systems that store private data are monitored around the clock by an information security officer or team to improve the effectiveness of detecting cyber attacks. 

Users may be tricked into downloading and installing harmful software by social engineering techniques like Trojan assaults, which seem entirely benign. Vulnerability assessments assist scan your organization's internal and external systems for security flaws. 

Utilize SSL Certification

If hackers get access to your organization's communication networks, encrypting the data they find there may help mitigate some of the damage they can do. Acquiring SSL certification from the appropriate authorities is necessary to implement encryption. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates are digital certificates that provide authentication and encrypted connections for websites. To use a straightforward comparison, an SSL certificate functions like an envelope and a seal do for a letter. 

Final Thoughts

When it comes to thwarting attempts at social engineering, a little bit of prevention may save a lot of trouble later on. In many instances, the only remedy for social engineering is to change your passwords and maintain as much dignity as possible while suffering any financial losses that may have resulted from the attack.

Make sure that your organization has the means to quickly discover security problems, monitor what is taking place, and inform your security staff so that they can take urgent action.