1.4.3

Social Engineering

Test yourself

Social Engineering

No matter how much money is spent on securing a network, human error is always a very real threat.

Illustrative background for Social engineeringIllustrative background for Social engineering ?? "content

Social engineering

  • The weak point in network security packages is often the people.
  • Social engineering is a form of attack that involves tricking people into giving away critical information or access details.
Illustrative background for Cold callingIllustrative background for Cold calling ?? "content

Cold calling

  • Social engineers often cold call victims and pretend to be from an organisation such as:
    • A bank.
    • A utility company.
  • The social engineer will then ask a victim to confirm their details, so that they can use these details to access their account later.
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Fear

  • Fear is often used to put people off-guard and make them more likely to comply.
  • Social engineers know that people will make irrational decisions when panicked.
  • A common attack would be to call someone pretending to be a bank, and ask why they have emptied out their account:
    • This would panic the victim, who would then want to sign into their account straight away over the phone.

Protecting Against Social Engineering

Social engineering is very difficult to protect against. But there are a few tactics employed by organisations to cut down on the amount of successful attacks.

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Education and training

  • The most effective means of protection against social engineering is education and training.
  • People are made aware of the tactics of fraudsters:
    • This makes it more likely that they will recognise a fraudulent phone call.
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Company security policies

  • Company security policies include instructions that employees must follow to uphold security.
  • For example:
    • Don't discuss a user account without the user having confirmed their PIN number.
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Public awareness campaigns

  • Banks and governments often run public awareness campaigns to educate members of the public about the risks of social engineering.
  • These often include case studies of what could happen if people do not take care.

Jump to other topics

1Computer Systems

1.1Systems Architecture

1.1.1Architecture Introduction

1.1.2Von Neumann Architecture

1.1.3Fetch-Execute Cycle

1.1.4Factors Affecting CPU Performance

1.1.5Elements of Computer Systems

1.1.6Exam-Style Questions - Von Neumann Architecture

1.2Memory & Storage

1.2.1Types of Memory

1.2.2Flash Memory

1.2.3Virtual Memory

1.2.4Exam-Style Questions - Primary Memory

1.2.5Capacity

1.2.6Solid State Storage

1.2.7Magnetic Storage

1.2.8Examples of Magnetic Storage

1.2.9Optical Storage & its Properties

1.2.10Examples of Optical Storage

1.2.11End of Topic Test - Computer Systems

1.2.12Grade 9 - Storage

1.2.13Exam-Style Questions - Storage

1.2.14Units of Information

1.2.15Number Bases

1.2.16Converting Number Bases

1.2.17Hexadecimal

1.2.18Binary Arithmetic

1.2.19Representing Text

1.2.20ASCII & Unicode

1.2.21Representing Images

1.2.22Representing Sound

1.2.23Data Compression

1.2.24End of Topic Test - Representation

1.2.25Exam-Style Questions -Data Conversions

1.3Computer Networks, Connections & Protocols

1.3.1Benefit of Networks

1.3.2Network Performance

1.3.3Networks: How Do Packets Get Routed?

1.3.4Types of Networks

1.3.5Client-Server Model

1.3.6Pros & Cons of Client-Server Model

1.3.7Peer-to-Peer Model

1.3.8Pros & Cons of Peer-to-Peer Model

1.3.9Network Hardware

1.3.10What is the Internet?

1.3.11URLs

1.3.12DNS & Web Hosting

1.3.13The Cloud

1.3.14Pros & Cons of the Cloud

1.3.15Exam-Style Questions - Networking Models

1.3.16Topology

1.3.17WiFi

1.3.18WiFi Encryption

1.3.19IP Addresses

1.3.20MAC Addresses

1.3.21Network Protocols

1.3.22Application Protocols

1.3.23Layers

1.3.24Advantages of Layering

1.3.25Exam-Style Questions - Network Protocols

1.4Network Security

1.4.1Forms of Attack

1.4.2Malware

1.4.3Social Engineering

1.4.4Phishing

1.4.5Common Active Attacks

1.4.6Information Security

1.4.7SQL Injection

1.4.8Network Administration

1.4.9Protecting Against Malware

1.4.10Authentication & Passwords

1.4.11Encryption

1.4.12End of Topic Test - Networks

1.5Systems Software

1.5.1Types of System Software

1.5.2Operating Systems

1.5.3Operating System Managers

1.5.4File Management

1.5.5Device Management

1.5.6User Management

1.5.7Utility Software: Encryption & Defragmentation

1.5.8Utility Software: Data Compression & Backup

1.6Ethical, Legal, Cultural & Environmental Concern

1.6.1Open Source vs Proprietary Software

1.6.2Licensing Issues

1.6.3Ethical Issues

1.6.4Ethical Issues 2

1.6.5Exam-Style Questions - Ethical Issues

1.6.6Legal Issues

1.6.7Legal Issues 2

1.6.8Freedom of Information Act (2000)

1.6.9Cultural Issues

1.6.10Environmental Issues

1.6.11Positive Environmental Impact

1.6.12Privacy Issues

1.6.13Stakeholders

1.6.14End of Topic Test - Software & Issues

2Computational Thinking, Algorithms and Programming

2.1Algorithms

2.1.1Computational Thinking

2.1.2Algorithmic Thinking

2.1.3Pseudocode & Flow Diagrams

2.1.4Interpreting & Correcting Algorithm

2.1.5Completing Algorithms

2.1.6Search Algorithms

2.1.7Binary Search

2.1.8Overview of Sort Algorithms

2.1.9Bubble Sort & Insertion Sort

2.1.10Merge Sort

2.1.11Exam-Style Questions - Sorting Algorithms

2.2Programming Fundamentals

2.2.1Fundamentals

2.2.2Program Flow 1

2.2.3Program Flow 2

2.2.4Arithmetic & Relational Operators

2.2.5Boolean Operators

2.2.6Data Types

2.2.7Arrays

2.2.8Strings

2.2.9File Handling

2.2.10Structuring Data

2.2.11End of Topic Test - Programming

2.2.12Exam-Style Questions - Translation

2.3Producing Robust Programs

2.3.1Defensive Design Considerations

2.3.2Defensive Design Considerations 2

2.3.3Maintainability

2.3.4Testing

2.3.5Test Plans

2.3.6Error Types

2.3.7End of Topic Test - Programming

2.3.8Exam-Style Questions - Testing

2.4Boolean Logic

2.4.1Computational Logic

2.4.2Boolean Logic

2.4.3Boolean Operators

2.4.4Grade 9 - Logic

2.5Programming Languages & IDEs

2.5.1High-Level vs Low-Level Languages

2.5.2Translation - Compliers & Interpreter

2.5.3Translation - Assemblers

2.5.4Integrated Development Environments

2.5.5Exam-Style Questions - Translation

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Malware

Phishing