A Social Engineering Attack: What Is It?

In a Social Engineering attack, the attacker uses people skills to trick the target into giving them access to their system or data. Attackers can fool targets into thinking they are safe by posing as repairmen, researchers, or even new hires. However, if the questioning is done correctly, the individual may learn enough to break into the organisation’s network. Suppose an attacker cannot gather enough intel from a single insider. In that case, they can always turn to another employee in the same company and use them to corroborate their testimony.

Mechanics of Social Engineering

Social engineers often use people’s natural cognitive biases to make people to do what they want. Social engineering aims to gain the victim’s trust by portraying the attacker positively. Once the victim trusts the attacker, the attacker can use that trust to get the victim to reveal private information.

Unfortunately, attackers can use many cognitive biases to their advantage to steal private information from their victims. Trust in others is the foundation of many manipulative social techniques.

Various Methods of Social Engineering

Knowing the standard methods social engineers use is one of the best approaches to protect yourself from a social engineering attack. Scammers on social media use the same techniques as their traditional online counterparts, impersonating a reliable source to gain the victim’s trust and steal personal information.

The following are also frequent methods of a cyberattack:

• Phishing

In phishing, the sender’s identity is concealed to make the message appear to have come from a trusted source, which is a social engineering tactic. Usually in the form of email, this type of communication is employed to coerce targets into providing personal details. An email from a friend, relative, or established business should be treated as genuine unless there is reason to suspect otherwise. Phishing scams capitalise on people’s trust to steal their money.

Phishing are attempts to steal sensitive information from an online user by using email or spoofing websites that look like those of reputable companies. Emails claiming to be from legitimate financial institutions often contain malicious links or attachments that steal sensitive information. Users who voluntarily disclose personal information are putting themselves at risk.

The use of purportedly official-looking organisations in phishing attempts is common. It’s not uncommon for invaders to strike during opportune times or in response to specific circumstances, such as

• Financial strain and stress
• Holidays
• Environmental hazards
• Disease epidemics and public health system fears

• Luring you in with honey

The attacker in a honey trap manipulates the victim into engaging in sexual activity. The assailant then uses extortion techniques like blackmail or sexting. Social engineers use honey traps, emails that claim to have been snooping on the recipient through a webcam or electronic surveillance.

You should check the security of your webcam after receiving such an email. Don’t freak out; it’s probably spam, and you can safely ignore the message.

• Pretexting

Con artists use pretexting by creating a fictitious situation to trick their victims. A social engineer’s arsenal includes a highly effective pretexting attack, which can happen online or offline and requires the attacker to appear credible.

It can be challenging to spot a ruse, so it’s best to be cautious about sharing personal information with strangers. Furthermore, if you receive a call about an urgent matter, you should contact the company directly to rule out the possibility of a social-engineering scam.

• Smishing

Smishing is the practice of sending fraudulent SMS messages to steal sensitive information. During these attacks, they may pressure the target to take immediate action, such as visiting a malicious website or calling a scam number. They frequently employ deceptive practices to coerce victims into disclosing personally identifiable information. Smishing attack conspirators know they have a better chance of succeeding if they can make their targets feel like they need to act quickly to avoid missing out on something important.

Short Message Service Hacking, or Smishing, is the fraudulent use of text messages for harmful ends. In some cases, responding to a text message that includes a link to a website, email address, or phone number may launch the associated application or initiate the call. With the convergence of email, voice, text message, and web browser capabilities, users are more likely to fall prey to engineered malicious activity.

• Vishing

This modern phishing attack method targets the target via voice call. These attacks frequently involve phone number spoofing in which the attacker pretends to be someone else, such as IT support, a coworker, or even a bank. Attackers who prefer to maintain their anonymity during a fight can benefit from using a voice changer.

“Vishing,” or social engineering via voice communication, is common. Like other social engineering techniques, this technique aims to get the victim to call a specific number and reveal private information. 

Modern vishing attacks can be carried out entirely through voice communications thanks to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solutions and broadcasting services. Scammers can take advantage of consumers’ naive trust in telephone communications, especially landline communications, due to the ease with which caller ID can be spoofed using VoIP. The fact that they can only intercept one’s communication with physical access to the line is of little use when dealing with a malicious actor face-to-face.

• Targeted email attacks, or spear phishing

Spear phishing is a structure of social engineering used to target specific individuals or large organisations. Spear phishing attacks target specific, high-profile targets, such as influential business executives or public figures. The Social Engineering Attacks that employ this method are typically well-researched and cleverly disguised.

• Whaling

Whaling is a hazardous form of phishing that often results in catastrophic outcomes. Only one high-value individual is targeted in these social engineering scams. The term “CEO fraud” is sometimes used to describe the victims of whaling, which may help you visualise them. Because the perpetrators of whaling attacks successfully adopt a businesslike tone of voice and use insider industry knowledge, these attacks are more difficult to spot than other forms of phishing.

• Baiting

To be sure, social engineering can start offline as well as online. Baiting occurs when a hacker places a USB drive infected with malware in a public location. These devices’ labels are written to pique the buyer’s interest. Someone who picks up the device out of curiosity (or greed) and plugs it into their computer runs the risk of unwittingly spreading malware.

• Scareware

Scareware is malicious software that employs psychological techniques to persuade victims to download and install phony antivirus software or visit malicious websites. Scareware often takes the form of pop-ups claiming that they can help you get rid of a virus. Your computer may be infected with malware if you click on the pop-up and end up on a malicious website or download malicious software accidentally.

If you are concerned that scareware or another type of annoying pop-up may be present on your computer, you must run regular scans with a reputable virus removal tool. One of the most critical aspects of safe internet behaviour is performing routine security checks on your device. It protects private data and makes future social engineering attacks less likely.

• Transmission of unwanted commercial electronic mail

Email spamming, one of the first forms of online social engineering, is responsible for many unwanted messages you receive daily. At best, spam emails are an annoyance, and at worst, they’re an attempt at identity theft. While automated spam filtering is available on many email servers, it is not 100% effective, and malicious emails may still get through.

Most social engineering attacks use one or more of the methods described above. Constantly evolving social engineering techniques, such as email spamming and pretexting, give attackers a leg up in their attempts to fool humans and machines.

What Are Some Warning Signs of Phishing?

The sender’s address may be fake. The sender’s address could be a spoof of a legitimate one. Cybercriminals can make their email addresses look similar to legitimate businesses by changing or omitting a few characters.

Standard greetings and farewells. Common characteristics of phishing emails include impersonal salutations (like “Dear Valued Customer”) and the absence of a physical address or other means of contact. A reputable firm will likely ask for your permission to use your name and contact information.

Bogus websites and external links. You can identify spoofed links by hovering over them in an email and seeing text that doesn’t match the link’s destination. Websites that are malicious and legitimate may look similar, but the latter may have a URL with a slightly different spelling or a different domain (e.g., .com vs. .net). In addition, hackers may use a URL shortening service to disguise the link’s true destination.

Edits were made to grammar, spelling, and formatting. Inconsistencies in formatting, grammar mistakes, and misspelled words may all be signs of a phishing scam. Customers’ letters are written, checked, and proofread by experts at reputable organisations.

Conflicting associations. Unwanted emails often contain malicious attachments that the recipient is encouraged to open. By appealing to the user’s sense of urgency or importance, cybercriminals hope to persuade them to download or open an attachment without carefully inspecting it.

Protection Measures Against Social Engineering Attempts

• Using a Combination of Authentication Methods

Don’t rely on a single measure to ensure your account’s security; even the most basic measures can make a difference. We know that passwords are crucial for security, but they must be sufficient. Why? Simply put, your online accounts are highly vulnerable to having their passwords guessed.

They can access passwords via social engineering. The requirement of multi-factor verification can be met in various ways, including biometric authentication, security questions, and one-time passwords.

• Never Lose Sight of the Critical Systems

The security of your system, which may contain sensitive information, requires constant attention. Sometimes exploiting techniques like Trojans rely on the system being vulnerable. Security flaws in both public and private networks can be found with the help of web application scanning.

At least once a year, you should conduct a social engineering engagement to see how easily fooled your employees are. When potentially malicious domains are discovered, they can be taken down immediately to stop intellectual property theft.

• Implement a cloud-based web application firewall (WAF) that uses the latest security technology.

A cloud-based firewall for next-generation web applications is a far superior defence against social engineering attacks than any firewall you might be using right now. Keep in mind that web WAFs differ significantly from the more common “traditional” WAFs.

• Be sure the person who sent you the email is who they say they are.

More often than not, con artists will pretend to be legitimate businesses to gain the trust of their victims and steal their personal information. Emails masquerading as those from trusted institutions like banks, social media sites, or online retailers are commonly used by attackers, especially in phishing attacks. Many phishing emails use plausible narratives to convince you to click on a link.

Emails can be faked for social engineering purposes, so checking with the actual senders before acting on anything you receive is essential. Keep in mind that legitimate financial institutions will never ask you for sensitive information by email without taking additional steps to confirm your identity.

• Figure out what would most entice thieves.

There’s no guarantee that hackers will target your company using that technique. Those people only want what they perceive to be valuable.

Beyond just your product, service, and intellectual property, you must adopt the mindset of the attacker to decide what you must protect.

An Independent Assessment is the most reliable way to determine which of your assets would be most valuable to thieves.

• Verify an SSL Certificate

If hackers intercept encrypted data, emails, or communication, they won’t be able to read it. One option is a secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate issued by a trusted certification authority.

In addition, before giving any information, they could use it to identify you and ensure the site is legitimate. Inspecting the URLs is one way to verify a site’s reliability. You can assume the website is encrypted and safe if it begins with “HTTPS://.” Sites that begin with “HTTP://” do not use a secure connection.

• Evaluating the Penetration of a Potential Threat

The best way to protect yourself from social engineering is to have a pen test performed, where experts will try to find and exploit security flaws in your system. Suppose your pen tester can put your critical system in jeopardy. In that case, you will gain insight into which systems and employees are most at risk and the types of social engineering attacks to which they may be susceptible.

• Discover how app pen testing can keep you safe from identity theft.
• Always make sure you have the latest security patches installed.

Cybercriminals will typically look for vulnerabilities in your application, software, or systems to gain unauthorised access to your data. Always use the most recent versions of your web browser and operating system to protect yourself from potential threats.

This is because companies always release security patches whenever new vulnerabilities are found. Updating to the most recent version of your system software reduces vulnerability to cyberattacks and ensures a cyber-resilient environment.

• Activate Spam Defenses

Disable potential social engineering scammers by activating anti-spam software. Spam filters offer an invaluable service by helping to protect users from fraudulent emails purporting to be from legitimate companies.

Most email providers have spam filters set up to divert suspected spam to a separate folder. Spam filters eliminate the need to examine your emails for suspicious messages systematically.

• Keep an eye out for electronic monitoring signals.

Identity thieves may easily steal your personal information if you overshare it on social media. For example, if your resume will remain online, you should change the date of birth, phone number, and address to something more professional. All that information can be handy to someone attempting to engage in social engineering.

Keep your social media accounts set to “friends only”, and always think twice before sharing anything.

Tools for warding off influence in social settings

The best way to protect yourself from social engineering is to learn to identify it when you see it. It can be difficult to escape a social engineer’s trap once you’ve fallen into it. If you trust your instincts and use common sense, you can avoid falling victim to social engineering, even if you lack technical expertise.

• You can easily change your settings if you want to stop getting spam.

One of the easiest ways to safeguard yourself from social engineering is to update your email security settings. Strengthening your spam filters is one way to guard against social engineering scam emails. The procedure for setting up spam filters can vary in appearance depending on the email client you use. You can learn more about how you can stop receiving spam texts by reading our helpful guide.

In addition, you can directly add the email addresses of reliable people and organisations to your digital contact lists, making it simple to spot any future attempts at social engineering by someone posing as them but using a fake email address.

• Learn the backstory

Anytime you receive a text or phone call from an unfamiliar number, verifying the number’s validity online is a good idea. Someone else may have already reported the sender if this is part of a more extensive social engineering campaign. If you receive an email or phone call from what seems to be a trusted source, double-check the sender’s address or number to make sure you aren’t being tricked into visiting a malicious site.

This method might not always work if the phone number was spoofed as part of a social engineering attack. If a web search doesn’t turn up any red flags, another way to protect yourself is to contact the organisation that claims to have contacted you.

• Things that don’t feel right probably aren’t real.

Protecting yourself from social engineering attacks begins with sharpening your critical thinking ability. Recent Twitter social engineering attacks have impersonated prominent figures like Elon Musk and Bill Gates to offer away thousands of dollars in Bitcoin. They badly need $1,000 from their loyal donors.

It’s improbable that any celebrity is giving away thousands of dollars worth of Bitcoin as promised in those viral videos. In a social engineering attack, trusting one’s gut and using common sense can get one very far. Keep your guard up for bargains that seem too good to be true. If the request came from someone you know, ask yourself, “Would they ask me for information this way?”

• Set up virus protection software.

It is possible to protect yourself from social engineering attacks without having to spend time manually checking sources by using antivirus software. Security software can prevent threats like malware and phishing attempts.

Case studies of actual social engineering fraud

When it comes to IT security, social engineering attacks frequently take the form of an email, text, or voice message from a person who appears to be trustworthy. Attackers have become much more sophisticated in their delivery, so even if you think you can spot a suspicious email on your own, you probably can’t.

The following real-world examples show that organisations and individuals can still fall prey to social engineering scams and cyberattacks despite taking every precaution possible.

• In 2014, Sony Pictures dispersed.

The 2014 cyberattack on Sony Pictures is another famous example of social engineering. Hackers from North Korea pretended to be Apple ID verification emails and tricked Sony employees into giving them their login credentials.

• 2015 Ubiquiti Networks

After breaking into an employee’s email at Ubiquiti Networks, fraudsters stole $46 million in 2015. Scammers used the victim’s login information to request fraudulent wire transfers from the business’s accounting division.

• The Democrats triumphed in 2016.

The hacking of the Democratic Party’s email server during the 2016 US Presidential election was one of the more commonly known examples of social engineering in recent history. Using a spear phishing attack, Russian hackers stole sensitive campaign data and voter information for nearly 500,000 voters from Democratic campaign leaders.

• 2017’s Ethereum Classic.

The 2017 hack of Ethereum Classic, in which hackers had impersonated the owner of Classic Ether Wallet and stole thousands of dollars worth of cryptocurrency from unsuspecting users, is another high-profile real-world example of a social engineering scam.

• Alternatives to Extended Hotel Stays in 2018

Hackers impersonating landlords offering legitimate vacation listings are the target of a 2018 warning issued by the US Federal Trade Commission. Hackers frequently gain access to legitimate landlords’ contact information, giving the impression to their potential tenants that they are communicating with the actual landlord.

• The 2020 version of Twitter

In 2020, a social engineering attack targeted Twitter, with the accounts of Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and others hacked to extort Bitcoin from their respective fan bases. Nearly $120,000 in Bitcoin was stolen, but the greater risk was the attackers’ apparent access to celebrity accounts (despite reports of no personal data being compromised).

• Cons using Tinder in 2022

After two years of social engineering trickery, the “Tinder Swindler” was finally caught and convicted in 2019. He had stolen around $10 million. The “Tinder Swindler” lost almost $7,000 of his own (stolen) money to a scam in 2022.

An Overview of the Threat of Social Engineering

Social engineering can be a devastating con in-person, over the phone, or via the internet because we are all susceptible. The ability to manipulate you into divulging private information is all a social engineer requires; they don’t need to be technically savvy to pull off such an attack.

Social media has made it easy for social engineers to create fake profiles that can pass for real or even impersonate real people, so be wary of any profiles you come across that seem strange or unfamiliar.

Despite their adaptive value, they can use cognitive biases maliciously. Targets of social engineering attacks may be the victims of identity theft, extortion, or other forms of cybercrime.

Often, the most successful social engineering attacks come from seemingly trustworthy sources, exploiting people’s naivete and trust in others.

A victim of social engineering may lose more than just financial resources; they may also see their credit score and online reputation plummet, and any debts taken out in their name may increase dramatically. While it is possible for victims to have their reputations restored, doing so may require extensive communication with authorities.

Eight proven strategies for protecting your business from social engineers are outlined below.

• Authentication with Multiple Factors

Multi-factor authentication, like two-factor authentication, increases the likelihood of preventing social engineering tactics before they are completed by preventing the escalation of privileges that is often a part of such schemes.

By restricting access to privileged resources to only a small number of authorised employees, for example, businesses can make a secure barrier. Even if attackers obtain employee login credentials, they will still have to overcome additional barriers to access the network and systems fully.

• Establish Policies for Social Media Sites

Having a policy regarding how and what employees post on social media can help reduce the chances of social engineering attacks, but oversharing is still a problem. Cybercriminals frequently use social media as a source of information about their victims, including spear phishing.

• Develop Sound Procedures for Core Functions

To reduce the success rate of cybercriminals, it is essential to implement appropriate policies when dealing with procedures like transferring money or making payments, such as anti-malware, antivirus, network firewalls, etc. They are ineffective against social engineering because it is intended to trick humans.

You can quickly eliminate social engineering attempts by implementing a strict policy around money transfers, such as requiring face-to-face confirmation of transfers over a certain amount. One type of spear phishing email attack is known as “CEO fraud,” in which the attacker pretends to be the CEO of your company to get employees to wire money to their accounts.

• Distribute Safety-Awareness Courses

Complete security awareness training for all employees is a great way to deter social engineering attacks. This training is crucial to the security of your business and its employees because social engineering relies on taking advantage of vulnerabilities in human behaviour.

“Phishing” is an email-based social engineering technique in which the target is tricked into performing a stupid action—typically, clicking on a link or downloading a file—that ultimately grants the attacker access to the target’s computer or the network systems of the organisation.

If workers are aware of the warning signs of social engineering attacks like Phishing—such as a suspicious email address or link—they can quickly and easily eliminate these threats.

• Never Lose Sight of the Critical Systems

To improve the efficiency with which cyber threats are detected, it is recommended that critical systems housing sensitive information be monitored around the clock by an information security officer or team. They can trick users into executing malicious code via social engineering through Trojan attacks and other seemingly innocuous software.

• Improve the efficiency of spam filtering at the email gateway

Spam constitutes 45 per cent of all emails, and the vast majority of spam emails are socially engineered to compromise computer systems and networks and steal data. Your company must implement the appropriate email gateways to flag these attempts as spam in your employees’ inboxes.

• Help people learn the ropes of social engineering with simulated practice.

You should test employees using social engineering simulations to ensure they have fully internalised the importance of cybersecurity after completing your company’s comprehensive security awareness training program.

A vendor-provided, cloud-based phishing simulation can teach you how effective a real phishing campaign would be on your organisation. It can be run remotely and modified to fit your needs.

Using simulation to evaluate and improve your company’s training, awareness procedures, and policies can help your employees avoid and detect social engineering attacks.

• Make use of SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) Certificates.

Using encryption lessens the impact of a hacker breaking into your organisation’s communication systems; an SSL certificate is a digital certificate that presents authentication for a website and enables an encrypted connection; think of it as an envelope and seal for a letter.

What steps should someone who believes they are a victim take?

If you believe you may have accidentally disclosed sensitive information, you should notify the appropriate personnel in your company, including the network administrators.

If a security breach happens, you must notify your financial institution immediately and close any affected accounts.

It would be best if you immediately changed any compromised passwords and never again use the same password for more than one account.

Conclusion

Taking the necessary measures to protect your business from social engineering attacks is essential in light of the increasing frequency with which these attacks are being launched.

You should equip your company with mechanisms to detect security breaches, track ongoing activity, and immediately alert the security team.

Author’s Bio:

 

Paul Meñez was a freelance interior designer turned graphic artist and audio-video editor. He went into full-time NGO work for more than ten years and found his passion for outreach, specifically for underprivileged children and youth. 

 

He has travelled around the Philippines and Asia on different outreach efforts, even with his wife and three kids. He is currently based in the Philippines, doing freelance graphic design and video editing while writing for Softvire. He is also preparing to jumpstart his organic farm on his hometown island soon.

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