Legal Definition of Social Engineer
An example of social engineering is the use of the Forgot Password feature on most websites that require login. A poorly secured password recovery system can be used to grant a malicious attacker full access to a user`s account while the original user loses access to the account. Information review: Identify sensitive information and assess its exposure to social engineering and failures of security systems (buildings, computer systems, etc.) There are many ways hackers can create social engineering attacks, whether it`s posing as a support professional offering to “fix” a bug on your computer or sending a “friend” request to your social media account. Here are three popular social engineering attacks. Phishing, which is used to obtain Social Security numbers, addresses, and other forms of personal information, is the most common form of social engineering. Perhaps the most famous example of a social engineering attack comes from the legendary Trojan War, in which the Greeks were able to sneak into the city of Troy and win the war by hiding in a giant wooden horse presented to the Trojan army as a symbol of peace. Many types of consumer fraud scenarios involve social engineering conspiracies. For example, the suspect might begin with a sentence: “We conduct market research. Could you please provide your name and Social Security number? They may even offer (fraudulent) prizes or incentives to participate if they aim to commit widespread identity theft. Since the early 2000s, another type of social engineering technique has included spoofing or hacking people`s IDs with popular email credentials like Yahoo!, Gmail, or Hotmail.
In addition, some spoofing attempts included emails from large online service providers such as PayPal. [22] This led to the “proposed standard” of the Sender Policy Framework RFC 7208 of April 2014 in combination with DMARC as a means of combating identity theft. Among the many motivations for this deception are: Social engineering is complex to warn potential targets. Precautions such as strong passwords and two-factor authentication for accounts can be used, but accounts can still be compromised by third parties with access to accounts such as bank employees. Social engineering crimes involve deception to obtain a person`s personally identifying information. Often, the scammer uses a fake survey or other social learning device to trick the person into thinking the survey is real. Social engineering can digitally impact you through mobile attacks in addition to desktop devices. However, you might as well be personally facing a threat.
These attacks can overlap and overlap to create a scam. Criminals use social engineering tactics because it`s usually easier to exploit your natural propensity for trust than to find ways to hack your software. For example, asking someone to give you their password is much easier than trying to hack their password (unless the password is really weak). Susan Headley was an American hacker active in the late 1970s and early 1980s and widely respected for her expertise in social engineering, pretexting and psychological subversion. [30] She was known for her specialty in breaking into military computer systems, often going to bed with military personnel and searching their clothes for usernames and passwords while they slept. She was heavily involved in phreaking with Kevin Mitnick and Lewis de Payne in Los Angeles, but later slandered them for deleting US Leasing`s system files after a discord, leading to Mitnick`s first conviction. She retired to professional poker. [32] Identity theft, also known as identity fraud, against seniors occurs when an identity thief fraudulently obtains the personal information of an elderly or elderly person. Various financial crimes are then committed using the senior`s Social Security number or credit information. The first step in most social engineering attacks is for the attacker to find and recognize the target.
For example, if the target is a company, the hacker can gather information about organizational structure, internal processes, general jargon used in the industry, and possible business partners, among others. Victims may respond to a fake offer from a free utility or guide that promises illegal benefits such as: Social engineering is the art of manipulating people into revealing confidential information. The types of information these criminals are looking for can vary, but when individuals are targeted, criminals usually try to trick you into giving them your passwords or banking information, or accessing your computer to stealthily install malware – giving them access to your passwords and banking information and giving them control of your computer. Comments on specific definitions should be sent to the authors of the linked source publication. For NIST publications, there is usually an email in the document. These social engineering systems know that if you dangle something that people want, a lot of people will take the bait. These schemes are often found on peer-to-peer websites that offer a download of something like a new movie or music. But the schemes are also found on social networking sites, malicious websites that you find via search results, etc. Now that you understand the underlying concept, you`re probably wondering, “What is a social engineering attack and how do I spot it?” Phishing attacks are a subset of social engineering strategy that mimics a trusted source and concocts a seemingly logical scenario to share credentials or other sensitive personal data.
According to Webroot`s data, financial institutions account for the vast majority of spoofed businesses, and according to Verizon`s annual data breach investigation report, social engineering attacks such as phishing and pretexting (see below) account for 93% of successful data breaches. A method used by social engineers to access a building or other protected area. A tailgater waits for an authorized user to open and pass through a secure entrance, then follows right behind. Social engineering attacks, including ransomware, business email compromise, and phishing, are problems that can never be solved, but can only be solved through continued attention to security awareness training. Watch this video interview with Stu Sjouwerman where he explains why this is a persistent problem and what measures are needed to overcome it: Social engineering attacks focus on the attacker`s use of persuasion and trust. When you`re exposed to these tactics, you`re more likely to take steps you wouldn`t take otherwise. Water Holing is a targeted social engineering strategy that leverages users` trust in the websites they visit regularly. The victim feels safe doing things they wouldn`t do in another situation. For example, a prudent person might intentionally avoid clicking on a link in an unsolicited email, but the same person would not hesitate to follow a link on a website they visit frequently. Thus, the attacker prepares a trap for the reckless prey at a preferred waterhole. This strategy has been successfully used to access some (supposedly) very secure systems.
[15] Social engineering is the act of exploiting human weaknesses to gain access to personal information and protected systems. Social engineering relies on manipulating individuals rather than hacking computer systems to break into a target`s account. Tailgating or piggyback is the act of following an authorized employee into a restricted area. Attackers can play with social courtesy to get you to hold the door open to them or convince you that they are also allowed to stay in the area. Here, too, pretense can play a role. Popular types of social engineering attacks include the following techniques: James Linton is a British hacker and social engineer who used OSINT and spear phishing techniques to trick various email targets in 2017, including CEOs of major banks and members of the Trump administration in the White House. He then worked in email security, where he socially developed Business Email Compromise (BEC) threat actors to gather specific threat intelligence. Pretense (adj. Pretextual) is the act of creating and using a fabricated scenario (the pretext) to engage a target victim in a way that increases the likelihood that the victim will reveal information or perform actions that would be unlikely under normal circumstances.
[11] A sophisticated lie that most often involves prior research or hiring and using this information to impersonate (e.g., date of birth, social security number, amount of the last bill) to establish legitimacy in the target`s mind. [12] In the background, pretexting can be interpreted as the first evolution of social engineering and evolved as social engineering integrated current technologies. Current and past examples of pretense prove this evolution. Contain a download of images, music, movies, documents, etc. in which malware is embedded. If you download – which you probably will, since you think it`s from your friend – you`ll be infected. Now the criminal has access to your computer, email account, social media accounts, and contacts, and the attack spreads to everyone you know. And so on.
Be very careful when building friendships only online. While the internet can be a great way to connect with people from all over the world, it`s a common method for social engineering attacks. Pay attention to signs and red flags that indicate obvious manipulation or breach of trust.
