1.6.11

Social Engineering

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Social Engineering

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

Social engineering

Social engineering

  • People are often the weak point in any network security package.
  • Social engineering is a form of attack that involves tricking people into giving away critical information or access details.
Cold calling

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.
Fear

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.

Education and training

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.
Company security policies

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.
Public awareness campaigns

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
1

Computer Systems

1.1

Data Representation

1.1.1Binary Numbers1.1.2Negative Binary Numbers1.1.3Hexadecimal1.1.4Using Hexadecimal1.1.5Converting Binary & Hexadecimal1.1.6Converting Denary & Hexadecimal1.1.7Capacity1.1.8Calculating Capacity Requirements1.1.9Binary in Computer Systems1.1.10Data Compression1.1.11Run Length Encoding1.1.12File Formats
1.2

Data Transmission

1.2.1Packet Switching1.2.2Data Transmission1.2.3Universal Serial Bus (USB)1.2.4Parity Check1.2.5Checksum & Echo Checks1.2.6Encryption
1.3

Hardware

1.3.1Elements of Computer Systems1.3.2Types of Computer System1.3.3Von Neumann Architecture1.3.4The Fetch, Decode, Execute Cycle1.3.5Factors Affecting CPU Performance1.3.6Computational Logic1.3.7Input Devices1.3.82D & 3D Scanners1.3.9Code Readers1.3.10Solid State Storage1.3.11Magnetic Storage1.3.12Examples of Magnetic Storage1.3.13Optical Storage1.3.14Examples of Optical Storage1.3.15Types of Optical disk1.3.16Storage Requirements1.3.17Translation - Compilers1.3.18Translation - Interpreters1.3.19Translation - Assemblers1.3.20Acoustic Sensors1.3.21Flow Sensors1.3.22Gas Sensors1.3.23Humidity Sensors1.3.24Infrared Sensors1.3.25Level Sensors1.3.26Light Sensors1.3.27Magnetic Field Sensors1.3.28Moisture Sensors1.3.29pH Sensors1.3.30Pressure Sensors1.3.31Proximity Sensors1.3.32Temperature Sensors1.3.33Network Hardware
1.4

Software

1.4.1Operating Systems1.4.2Interrupts1.4.3High-Level Languages1.4.4Low-Level Languages
1.5

The Internet & its Uses

1.5.1The Internet1.5.2Uniform Resource Locators (URLs)1.5.3DNS1.5.4HTML1.5.5Cookies1.5.6Web Hosting1.5.7Digital Currency
1.6

Cyber Security

1.6.1Forms of Attack1.6.2Penetration Testing1.6.3Types of Malware1.6.4How Malware Spreads1.6.5Protecting Against Malware1.6.6Information Security1.6.7Structured Query Language (SQL) Injection1.6.8Firewalls1.6.9Authentication: User Access Levels1.6.10Authentication: Passwords1.6.11Social Engineering1.6.12Phishing1.6.13Denial of Service Attacks
1.7

Automated & Emerging Technologies

1.7.1Automated Systems1.7.2Robotics1.7.3Artificial Intelligence
2

Algorithms, Programming & Logic

2.1

Algorithm Design & Problem Solving

2.1.1Computational Thinking - Abstraction2.1.2Computational Thinking - Decomposition2.1.3Computational Thinking - Algorithmic Thinking2.1.4Pseudocode2.1.5Flow Diagrams2.1.6Interpreting, Correcting & Completing Algorithm2.1.7Correcting Algorithms2.1.8Completing Algorithms2.1.9Testing2.1.10Types of Testing2.1.11Test Plans2.1.12Validation & Sanitation2.1.13Authentication & Contingencies
2.2

Programming

2.2.1Programming Fundamentals - Variables & Constants2.2.2Programming Fundamentals - Comments2.2.3Programming Fundamentals - Input & Output2.2.4Data Types2.2.5Casting2.2.6Controlling Program Flow - Sequence2.2.7Controlling Program Flow - Selection2.2.8Controlling Program Flow - Iteration2.2.9Modularity - Subroutines2.2.10Modularity - Scope2.2.11Arrays
2.3

Databases

2.3.1Structuring Data - Records2.3.2Structuring Data - Databases2.3.3SQL
2.4

Boolean Logic

2.4.1Binary Systems2.4.2Logic Circuits2.4.3Truth Tables2.4.4Evaluating Expressions2.4.5Boolean Operators2.4.6End of Topic Test - Logic

Practice questions on Social Engineering

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    What is the weakest point in most networks?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    A social engineer might cold call a victim and claim to be from:Fill in the list
  3. 3
    A Social Engineering AttackPut in order
  4. 4
    How do company security policies help to protect against social engineering?Multiple choice
  5. 5
    No matter how much money is spent on securing a network, what is the most real threat?Multiple choice
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Phishing