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Social Engineering

In a cybersecurity context, social engineering is the set of tactics used to manipulate, influence, or deceive a victim into divulging sensitive information or performing ill-advised actions to release personal and financial information or hand over control over a computer system.

A malicious science, social engineering uses psychological manipulation, persuasion, and exploitation to deceive users into making security mistakes or relinquishing sensitive information. Social engineering attacks rely on human interaction and often involve conning victims into breaking normal security procedures. For instance, social engineering attacks can be highly effective because they’re based on the human tendency to trust others or explore one’s curiosity about new offers or information acting as bait.

Traits of a Social Engineering Attack

The distinction between social engineering and phishing can often be unclear, as both tactics are frequently used together in sophisticated attacks. Social engineering typically involves pretending to be a legitimate employee, such as a CFO or CEO, or deceiving an employee into believing the attacker is a genuine customer. This manipulation aims to extract sensitive information or modify account settings, such as in cases of SIM swapping.

No matter the attacker’s intent, there are common indicators of social engineering attempts. A key strategy in social engineering is exploiting the target’s emotions, particularly fear and urgency. The attacker’s goal is to prevent the victim from carefully analyzing the request, instead pushing them to act quickly without reflection.

A few common traits in all social engineering attacks are:

Heightened emotions: An attacker threatens the loss of an account to trick users into providing their credentials, or the attacker might pretend to be an executive demanding money from a targeted user to instill a sense of urgency in an employee fearful of losing their job.

Spoofed sender address: Most users are unaware that a sender email address can be spoofed, but proper email security will stop spoofed senders from accessing a targeted user’s inbox. Instead, an attacker will register a domain similar to an official one and hope that a targeted user does not notice the misspelling.

Strange friend requests: It’s not uncommon for an attacker to compromise an email account and spam malicious messages to the victim’s contact list. Messages are usually short and don’t have the personalized element from friends, so be hesitant to click links from friends if the message does not sound like personalized communication.

Unprofessional website links: Phishing links are sometimes used with social engineering to trick users into divulging sensitive information. Never enter credentials into a website directly from an email link, even if it looks like an official site (e.g., PayPal).

Too good to be true: Scammers often promise money in exchange for monetary compensation. For example, a targeted user could get a free iPhone in exchange for shipping payments. If the offer is too good to be true, then it is probably a scam.

Suspicious attachments: Instead of tricking targeted users into divulging private information, a sophisticated attack might work towards installing malware on a corporate machine using email attachments. Never run macros or executables on a machine from a seemingly harmless email message.

Questionable sender: Many social engineering techniques are designed to mimic a familiar source, such as a friend, boss, or co-worker. In the event you receive a suspicious email message, always check in and ask yourself “did my boss/friend/co-worker actually send this to me?” Before responding to the email in question, contact the actual person via phone call, text, or social media message to validate whether or not their being impersonated.

Refusal to respond to questions: If a message seems suspicious, reply to the message and ask the sender to identify themselves. An attacker will avoid identifying themselves and might just ignore the request.

Unidentifiable sender: If the sender is unable or unwilling to verify their identity with the organization, do not provide any additional information or access that they’re requesting. While email messages are the most common, this applies to other social engineering tactics as well, such as text messages, phone calls, etc.

Examples of Social Engineering Techniques

Social engineering relies heavily on exploiting human emotions to deceive individuals. Attackers often use various psychological manipulations to pressure users into taking specific actions, such as transferring money or providing sensitive information, while making the attack appear credible. Many of these tactics are executed through digital channels like email or text messages, allowing attackers to remain anonymous and avoid direct interaction.

Here are some common social engineering techniques:

1. Phishing

Attackers often impersonate high-ranking individuals, such as corporate executives, to manipulate targets into performing actions like transferring

funds to fraudulent accounts. These attacks use cleverly crafted emails or messages that create a false sense of legitimacy.

  1. Vishing and Smishing Voice phishing (vishing) and SMS phishing (smishing) involve the use of phone calls or text messages to deceive victims. Attackers may use voice- altering software or send automated messages promising rewards or urgent assistance in exchange for payments or sensitive information.
  2. CEO or Executive Impersonation Fraud To create a sense of urgency, attackers may pretend to be a company’s CEO or other senior By leveraging authority and time pressure, they manipulate employees into quickly completing tasks like wire transfers or sharing confidential data, a tactic often referred to as executive fraud.

4. Baiting

This involves offering something enticing—such as cash prizes, discounts, or gifts—in exchange for minimal effort, like covering “shipping fees” or sharing payment details. The offers are often designed to seem too good to resist.

5. Pretexting

Attackers establish a fabricated scenario or identity to gain trust and access. For instance, they might impersonate a bank representative and claim there’s suspicious activity on the victim’s account, convincing the victim to share sensitive details under the guise of account verification.

  1. Tailgating or P iggybacking This physical social engineering tactic exploits secure access points, such as those requiring security badges. Attackers follow authorized personnel through restricted entryways, gaining physical access without proper

7. Quid Pro Quo

In this scenario, attackers offer something of value—such as money, job

opportunities, or other rewards—in exchange for sensitive information or access. This method often targets dissatisfied or vulnerable individuals within an organization.

  1. Watering Hole Attacks Instead of targeting victims directly, attackers compromise websites frequently visited by a specific group, such as employees of a particular company or industry. When these individuals visit the infected sites, they unknowingly download malware or expose their systems to further
  2. Deceptive Replies or  Fake Follow-Ups Attackers send emails that appear to be responses to previous correspondence, creating an air of authenticity. These emails often contain malicious attachments, fraudulent links, or requests for sensitive information under the guise of resolving an issue.

10. Fear-Based Manipulations

Social engineers commonly use fear tactics to provoke quick action. They may threaten financial loss, account suspension, or legal action if the victim does not comply. The urgency creates panic, reducing the likelihood of careful evaluation.

  1. Social Media Manipulation Attackers scour social media platforms to gather information about their targets. They then use this information to craft personalized messages, posing as friends, colleagues, or legitimate organizations to gain trust and extract confidential data.

12. Exploiting Curiosity

Malicious actors take advantage of human curiosity by planting USB drives or sending enticing files disguised as important documents. Once the target accesses the file or device, malware is installed.

Identifying Social Engineering Attacks

Social engineering tactics often share common traits regardless of the attacker’s goals. They frequently exploit emotions like fear, urgency, or trust to push victims into making hasty decisions. Recognizing these patterns and staying vigilant against unusual requests or offers can help mitigate the risk of falling victim to these types of attacks.

How to Not Be a Victim of Social Engineering

➢  Heartland Payment   Systems   data   breach   (2009)  An American payments processing company, Heartland Payment Systems was attacked with malware that allowed the sensitive financial information of their customers to be sniffed as the data crossed the network. The breach cost the company $12.6 million.

➢   Flame (2012) Flame is a sophisticated type of malware that includes a sniffer. The packet

sniffer has captured vast amounts of confidential data, including screenshots and audio files from countries in the Middle East. Flame is thought to be a form of state-sponsored espionage or cyber warfare, though the exact origin remains unknown.

➢  APT28 attack on hotel guests (2017) A Russian hacking group known as APT28, or “Fancy Bear,” used Wi-Fi sniffing to steal usernames, passwords, and other data from hotel guests in Europe and the Middle East. The attack also used malware and EternalBlue, which                      exploited             vulnerabilities             in More recently, in 2021, APT28 was also found to spread malware through unpatched vulnerabilities in Cisco routers.

What is the best defense against packet sniffing?

A sense of urgency can often catch potential victims off guard, but informed individuals can take steps to protect themselves by following a few simple guidelines. It’s crucial to pause, verify the sender’s identity, and ask questions, especially when communicating via email or phone.

Here are some key practices to stay safe:

  1. Do Your Research Before Responding If the scam is widespread, others may have shared warnings or experiences online. Take a moment to look it up.
  2. Avoid Clicking Links in Emails If the sender claims to represent a legitimate organization, don’t use the link provided in the email. Instead, manually enter the official website address into your browser to log in or authenticate.
  3. Stay Alert to Unusual Behavior from Contacts Hackers often exploit compromised email accounts to deceive others. If you receive an unexpected email from a friend containing just a link or minimal communication, be cautious—it could be a scam.
  4. Don’t Download Suspicious Files If an email urges you to download a file immediately, don’t rush. Ignore the request or seek assistance to confirm its authenticity before proceeding.

By following these steps, you can minimize the risk of falling victim to social engineering tactics.

Essential Social Engineering Statistics

Social engineering is one of the most common and effective ways an attacker can gain access to sensitive information. Statistics show that social engineering combined with phishing is highly effective and costs organizations millions in damages.

A few statistics on social engineering include:

  • Social engineering is responsible for 98% of
  • In 2020, 75% of companies reported being victims of
  • The most common cyber incident in 2020 was
  • The average cost after a data breach is $150 per
  • Over 70% of data breaches begin with phishing or social
  • Google recorded over 2 million phishing websites in
  • Approximately 43% of phishing emails impersonate large organizations like
  • 60% of companies report data loss after a successful phishing attack, and 18% of targeted users fall victim to phishing.
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