Social Engineering
Computer Science: Edexcel IGCSE, topic 5.2.9
Social Engineering
No matter how much money is spent on securing a network, human error is always a very real threat.
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
- 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 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.
Test yourself on Social Engineering
What is the weakest point in most networks?
A Social Engineering Attack