Which of the following attacks involves any act of pretending to be another person to obtain information?
Social engineering scams have been going on for years and yet users continue to fall for them every single day. In an effort to spread awareness of this tactic and fight back, here is a quick overview of social engineering. Show
By learning how to identify these attacks and improve cyber resiliency it makes avoiding threats like ransomware much easier. Definition: What is Social Engineering?Social engineering is a type of cyber attack that relies on tricking people into bypassing normal security procedures. To gain unauthorized access to systems, networks, or physical locations, or for financial gain, attackers build trust with users. The theory behind social engineering is that humans have a natural tendency to trust others. This makes it easier to trick someone into divulging personal information than it is to hack an account. How are social engineering attacks designed?To build trust, and then exploit it, social engineers follow a lifecycle to victimize their targets:
Because a social engineer’s strategy is built on trust, victims often don’t recognize they’ve been attacked until it’s too late. Common Types of social engineering attacksThe following are the five most common forms of social engineering attacks.
Phishing attacksPhishing attacks are one of the most common types of social engineering attacks. These attacks occur when the attacker sends an email or message to the target, which typically includes a link to a website that looks legitimate. The goal is to get the target to enter their personal information and login credentials into the website by pretending it is something else, such as a popular site or service. Common examples of phishing:
Phishing messages are designed to convey a sense of urgency and sometimes fear with the end user. This time pressure is a key tactic in getting users to unknowingly give over their sensitive information. Once the time pressure is applied there's two common types of capture methods that attackers use in phishing scams.
It’s important to be aware that phishing campaigns can come in many different forms so it's vital to stay vigilant. Baiting attacksBaiting is as it suggests, it’s a type of cyber attack that involves enticing a users to engage with some type of media. These attacks come in two forms, digital and physical. Digital Baiting AttacksBaiting is one of the common methods of delivering malware or ransomware. In digital attacks, the attackers offer something such as a new song release or movie download. These files though don’t include what a user is expecting and instead are infected with malware that will encrypt or take control of your data. Attackers then normally charge for decryption or to return control of the data. Physical baiting scamsThese attacks are less common as they involve more effort to execute the delivery than digital attacks. Physical scams involve users finding or being sent items like a USB drive or CD that peaks a user's interest. For example, a corporate branded flash drive labelled “Executive Salary Summary Q3” that is left out on a desk for an end user to find. Both of these types of attacks are baited social engineering. Once the bait is downloaded or used, malicious software is delivered directly into the end users system and the hacker is able to get to work. Pretexting attacksPretexting is where a hacker uses a known connection to the end user and exploits that trust built up between contacts. One of the common examples in attacks like this is where a hacker pretends to be a co-worker or service provider of the end user. This type of scam might be an email to an employee from what appears to be the head of IT support or a chat message from an investigator who claims to be performing a corporate audit. In order to execute a task the hacker will ask for login credentials, as the end user believes that the hacker is a known connection they might hand over their credentials. Pretexting is highly effective as it reduces human defenses to phishing by creating the expectation that something is legitimate and safe to interact with. Due to this type of social engineering, its key is to educate users to never share their credentials with anyone, including any IT support professionals. Quid Pro QuoQuid Pro Quo social engineering attacks are all about give and take between the end users and the hackers. These types of attacks are less sophisticated than the other types of attacks and normally involve users being aware of what they are doing. Similar to baiting, quid pro quo involves a hacker requesting the exchange of critical data or login credentials in exchange for a service or money. For example, an end user has been let go from a company and they didn’t leave on good terms. Hackers might try to locate users like this by reading an upset social post or comment made online. Once they have found the user they might try to buy their old login credentials to attack their old company. These types of attacks can be mitigated by keeping a tight control on user access controls. Tailgating and Piggybacking attacksPiggybacking, also called tailgating, is a type of social engineering attack that is primarily designed to target users in a physical environment. One example of this is when an unauthorized person physically follows an authorized person into a restricted corporate area or system to gain access. As more users return to the office environment attackers are looking to take advantage. One of the most common methods of piggybacking is when a hacker calls out to an employee to hold a door open for them as they’ve forgotten their ID card. Once hackers are in the office, they will try to access systems or “borrow” a laptop and see what they can use for their own benefit. Best practices to protect yourself from a social engineering attackSocial engineering attacks are both prevalent, tricky and take advantage of natural human instincts to be successful. These characteristics make them hard to spot and why it's critical for everyone to stay aware of the threat. Best practices to protecting yourself social engineering attacks:
It’s essential for all users with access to a network or systems to be aware of these various forms of social engineering to ensure corporate cyber security. If users know the main characteristics of these attacks, it’s much more likely they can avoid falling for them. Protect your critical data with a reliable backup and recovery solution as a last line of defenseDatto SIRIS is a business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) solution built for manage service providers to protect their clients from data loss and minimise downtime. Want to learn more about Datto SIRIS? Request a demo Which of the following attacks involving any act of pretending to be another person to obtain information?Pretexting. One party lies to another to gain access to privileged data. For example, a pretexting scam could involve an attacker who pretends to need financial or personal data to confirm the identity of the recipient.
What is baiting attack?Baiting: A type of social engineering attack where a scammer uses a false promise to lure a victim into a trap which may steal personal and financial information or inflict the system with malware. The trap could be in the form of a malicious attachment with an enticing name.
What is a tailgating attack?Tailgating. Our final social engineering attack type is known as “tailgating.” In these types of attacks, someone without the proper authentication follows an authenticated employee into a restricted area. The attacker might impersonate a delivery driver and wait outside a building to get things started.
What are the 5 social engineering attacks?The following are the five most common forms of digital social engineering assaults.. Baiting. As its name implies, baiting attacks use a false promise to pique a victim's greed or curiosity. ... . Scareware. Scareware involves victims being bombarded with false alarms and fictitious threats. ... . Pretexting. ... . Phishing. ... . Spear phishing.. |