Which of the following is a measure for preventing a social engineering attack?
Social engineering is the act of manipulating people to take a desired action, like giving up confidential information. Social engineering attacks work because humans can be compelled to act by powerful motivations, such as money, love, and fear. Adversaries play on these characteristics by offering false opportunities to fulfill those desires. The least sophisticated social engineering attacks are a numbers game: offer enough people the chance to acquire a few million dollars and a few will always respond. However, these attacks can often be quite sophisticated, and even a highly suspicious person can be fooled. Show
Social engineering attacks are of great concern to cybersecurity professionals because, no matter how strong the security stack is and how well-honed the policies are, a user can still be fooled into giving up their credentials to a malicious actor. Once inside, the malicious actor can use those stolen credentials to masquerade as the legitimate user, thereby gaining the ability to move laterally, learn which defenses are in place, install backdoors, conduct identity theft and — of course — steal data. 2022 CrowdStrike Global Threat ReportDownload the 2022 Global Threat Report to find out how security teams can better protect the people, processes, and technologies of a modern enterprise in an increasingly ominous threat landscape. Download NowHow Does a Social Engineering Attack Work?A social engineering attack may be conducted by email, social media, phone, or in person. However, no matter the channel through which the attack is conducted, the methods are consistent. The attacker will pose as an individual with a legitimate need for information such as an IT worker who needs a person to “verify their login credentials,” or a new employee who urgently needs an access token but doesn’t know the proper procedure to acquire one. Steps of a Social Engineering AttackSocial engineering attacks typically follow these simple steps:
Traits of a Social Engineering AttackPay attention to these warning signs if you think you are a recipient of a social engineering attack:
What are Some Common Types of Social Engineering Attacks?Some of the most common social engineering techniques include: PhishingA Phishing attack is the most well-known social engineering tactic. A phishing attack uses an email, website, web ad, web chat, SMS or video to inspire its victims to act. Phishing attacks may appear to be from a bank, delivery service or government agency, or they may be more specific and appear to be from a department within the victim’s company, such as HR, IT or finance. Phishing attack emails include a call to action. They may ask the victim to click a URL to a spoofed website or malicious link that contains malware. Awareness of phishing attacks is high, with even unsophisticated users knowing they exist. Yet they continue to work because people are distracted and busy or because they can be crafted so well that no one would be likely to question their authenticity. Spear Phishing: A Spear phishing attack is a variation of phishing scam in which the attacker targets a demographic, such as employees of a certain company or finance directors in a certain industry. Whaling: Similar to spear-phishing, a whaling attack is a targeted phishing tactic. However, the difference is that a whaling attack targets executives or senior employees. BaitingBaiting attacks may lure the target with a desirable offer, such as free music, games or ringtones, hoping that the password the target uses to log in and get the free digital goods is one they’ve reused from more important sites. Even if the password is a one-off, the attacker can sell it on the dark web as part of a package with thousands of others. In the corporate environment, a baiting attack is more likely to consist of a flash drive left in an obvious location, such as a breakroom or lobby. When the person who finds the drive plugs it into the corporate network to see who it belongs to, the drive downloads malware into the environment. Quid Pro QuoA quid pro quo attack is a social engineering scam similar to a baiting attack, but instead of taking a scattershot approach, it targets an individual with an offer to pay for a service. For example, the threat actor may pretend to be an academic researcher who will pay for access to the corporate environment. PretextingPretexting is a form of social engineering in which the attacker will present a false scenario, or “pretext”, to gain the victim’s trust and may pretend to be an experienced investor, HR representative, or other seemingly legitimate source. Pretexting plays on a victim’s emotions by utilizing a sense of urgency, offering a deal that is too good to be true or trying to gain sympathy to scam a victim. TailgatingTailgating attacks are unique because they are solely conducted in person. Also known as a piggyback attack, a tailgating attack occurs when the attacker infiltrates a facility by asking an employee to hold the door open for them. Once inside the facilities, the attacker will attempt to steal or destroy any data and information. Social Engineering ExamplesCovid-19 Email ScamsWhen COVID-19 spread around the planet, people were filled with emotions like fear, uncertainty and hope — which are the top ingredients for an effective social engineering campaign. Cyber criminals took full advantage of these emotions when disseminating malicious email spam attacks (malspam) across the globe. Read about the individual email spam attacks here: Malspam in the Time of COVID-19 > Threat Actor poses as CrowdStrike in Phishing ScamCrowdStrike Intelligence identified a callback phishing campaign impersonating prominent cybersecurity companies, including CrowdStrike itself. The phishing email implied that the recipient’s company had been breached and insisted the victim call the included phone number. The hackers were ultimately after the victims’ sensitive information. Read about the phishing scam here: Callback Malware Campaigns Impersonate CrowdStrike and Other Cybersecurity Companies > Malvertising Scam posed as Flash updateShlayer malvertising campaigns used fake Flash updates and social engineering tactics to trick victims into manually installing macOS malware and compromising their systems. Slayer is a type of malware that can quickly and discreetly infect a victim’s system. Read about the malvertising scam here: Shlayer Malvertising Campaigns Using Flash Update Disguise > Social Engineering Attack PreventionThe best way to prevent social engineering threats is to take both a human and technological approach to your defense strategy. Best Practices to Prevent Social Engineering AttacksSecurity awareness training is the best way to prevent being victimized. Make sure your company has a process in place to allow employees to engage IT security personnel if they have any reason to believe they might be the victims of a social engineering attack. As a part of security awareness programs, organizations should continue to remind their employees of the following these common practices:
Software to Prevent Social Engineering AttacksBeyond the human element, every organization should employ a cybersecurity solution that leverages the following capabilities:
Another best practice to prevent social engineering is to implement zero trust architecture, which grants limits a user’s access to all but specific systems to perform specific tasks, and only for a limited amount of time. When that time is up, access is rescinded. This approach limits the damage a malicious actor can do even if they are using stolen credentials to penetrate the system. What is social engineering and how can IT be prevented?Social engineering is the term used for a broad range of malicious activities accomplished through human interactions. It uses psychological manipulation to trick users into making security mistakes or giving away sensitive information. Social engineering attacks happen in one or more steps.
Which of the following techniques is used in a social engineering attack?Phishing. The most common form of social engineering attack is phishing. Phishing attacks exploit human error to harvest credentials or spread malware, usually via infected email attachments or links to malicious websites.
Which two precautions can help prevent social engineering?Always require a user name and password to be configured. Keep your password securely under your keyboard. Escort all visitors.Do not allow any customers into the workplace. Always ask for the ID of unknown persons.
What are the 4 types of social engineering?Phishing attacks. Phishing attacks are one of the most common types of social engineering attacks. ... . Baiting attacks. Baiting is as it suggests, it's a type of cyber attack that involves enticing a users to engage with some type of media. ... . Pretexting attacks. ... . Quid Pro Quo. ... . Tailgating and Piggybacking attacks.. |