Securinc

Introduction

Social engineering is a form of hacking that targets human beings rather than networks or machines. It uses techniques to manipulate people into revealing information about their employer, organization, customer or even themselves. Social engineers will sometimes use phishing emails and phone calls to try and trick employees into giving up sensitive data such as passwords or credit card numbers. The key to avoiding this type of attack is educating employees about the risks involved with sharing personal information with strangers over the phone or in emails.

Social engineering isn’t a new form of hacking, but one that occurs in all forms of business and social life. It targets psychological weaknesses, including human nature and our desire to be nice.

Social engineering relies on the fact that no one wants to appear rude or uncooperative—even if they’re just doing their job. For example: You’ve been waiting for an hour for your flight when an airline employee approaches you with a clipboard and says she’s collecting passenger names for the next flight. You tell her yours without thinking twice about it because you want your flight to be called as soon as possible so you can get seated before everyone else runs off with your seat; even though there are no real consequences if you give out false information or refuse to share any personal information at all (such as name). 

This is an example of how easy it is for someone using social engineering techniques such as these ones here on this page right now!

It is the manipulation or influence of people to gain access to confidential information about a business, organization or customer for non-authorized purposes.

Social engineering is the non-technical means of a hacker’s attack. It involves psychological manipulation to get confidential information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers and other personal details that can be used to gain access to networks and/or compromising data.

Social engineering is mainly used by hackers in order to gain access to companies’ networks or financial resources. For example, a hacker might call an employee of a company claiming they are from IT support and ask for their username and password so that they can help fix any problems with their computer systems. In another scenario, the hacker may impersonate an employee of the company who’s been away on holiday for weeks by sending emails from their inbox asking others if they want copies of documents stored therein – this is known as phishing or spearphishing (in which it’s done using personal information about specific individuals).

Social engineering targets psychological weaknesses, including human nature and our desire to be nice, as well as mistakes people may make because they are in a hurry or don’t know any better.

Social engineering targets psychological weaknesses, including human nature and our desire to be nice, as well as mistakes people may make because they are in a hurry or don’t know any better. For example, the attacker may call you at home and ask if you received an email from them. If you say yes and give out your password over the phone, they can use this information to log into your account and access sensitive data such as credit card numbers or other information that could be used for identity theft purposes.

It’s important to remember that social engineering is not limited to phone calls; it can also include emails, texts or even person-to-person contact (such as posing as someone’s boss when asking for confidential information).

Socially engineered attacks can also provide an avenue for malware attacks that can attack networks and other machines.

Socially engineered attacks can also provide an avenue for malware attacks that can attack networks and other machines. Malware, or malicious software, is a type of computer program that can steal data, damage hardware and cause other problems on the devices it affects. 

There are several ways to get infected with malware: you may download the program from the Internet or open an email attachment containing the code; however, one way in which many people become infected with malware is because they were socially engineered into doing so by clicking on links in emails that appear to come from trusted sources—like a friend or colleague—and then downloading some sort of file onto their device.

Computer security professionals have long understood that they cannot stop all malware threats from getting through their technical firewalls.

Computer security professionals have long understood that they cannot stop all malware threats from getting through their technical firewalls.

In fact, many organizations rely on a layered approach to computer security, with multiple firewalls protecting both internal and external systems from attacks. As good as these technical barriers are at stopping viruses and other malicious programs from reaching their targets, however, it’s important to remember that these tools are not perfect; there will always be a chance of a zero-day attack getting through. The more firewalls you use in sequence—and the better trained your employees are at recognizing and stopping suspicious activity—the lower your chances of being targeted by hackers or other cybercriminals who want access to sensitive data or control over business operations.

This means no matter how good your countermeasures are, you need to educate your employees about the risks of social engineering and what they can do about it.

The only way to truly protect your organization from social engineering attacks is to educate your employees about the risks of social engineering and what they can do about it. This means no matter how good your countermeasures are, you need to educate your employees about the risks of social engineering and what they can do about it.

You’ll want to make sure that training is not just an annual event but rather part of an ongoing commitment to security awareness. This type of training should be done in a variety of formats (e.g., online, classroom-based etc.) so it’s accessible by as many people as possible at various times in their lives (e.g., new hires and seasoned veterans).

You should try to keep up with the latest techniques being used by phishers and scammers so you can recognize when they are being used on your employees.

It is important for security professionals to keep up with the latest techniques being used by phishers and scammers. You can recognize when they are being used on your employees. You can use social engineering to test your employees’ knowledge of security policies.

The first step is explaining to employees the types of information that should never be given out over the phone, email or shared on social media websites.

The first step is explaining to employees the types of information that should never be given out over the phone, email or shared on social media websites. This includes:

  • Social Security numbers, birth dates and mothers’ maiden names

  • Passwords (except for authorized administrators)

  • Personal and financial information (credit card numbers, bank account numbers)

It’s also important to educate your employees about how they can avoid becoming victims of social engineering. Social engineers will often use psychological tricks that prey on human nature in an effort to convince you that they’re legitimate—so it’s important for your employees to understand these tricks and recognize when they’re being used against them.

Another approach is to create internal phishing events where staff members who volunteer are sent fake emails that look like they come from corporate headquarters requesting a password change or some other action. Those who reply are sent a follow-up email explaining how they were socially engineered.

You can set up an internal phishing event where you send fake emails to see if staff members are fooled by them. You can also follow up with an email explaining how they were socially engineered.

This approach has been used as a training exercise by security experts and others interested in testing the awareness of employees regarding social engineering.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, social engineering is not a problem that can be solved by technology alone. It requires employees to be aware of their surroundings and how they interact with others outside of work. When your employees understand the risks involved and how to protect themselves against them, then you have taken an important step toward protecting your business from these types of attacks. If you would like to know more about how you can protect your organisation against social engineering attacks, feel free to reach out to us.

Securinc Team

Securinc is a leading cybersecurity consulting firm dedicated to helping businesses navigate the complex world of information security. Since our inception, we have been at the forefront of the cybersecurity industry, offering tailored solutions to organizations of all sizes.

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