5.2.9

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

  • 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.
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.
Illustrative background for FearIllustrative background for Fear ?? "content

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.

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1Problem Solving

2Programming

3Data

4Computers

5Communication & The Internet

6The Bigger Picture

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