Social Engineering
With technology and advancement comes security threats, including data breaching, malware attacks, cloud service attacks, social engineering attacks, etc. Cybersecurity is the weapon to prevent these scenarios. Today you will get to know about social engineering in detail to prevent attacks related to it.
What is Social Engineering?
Social Engineering, its name suggests it is socializing through engineering. Yes, it is right, but as malpractice.
Social Engineering is a way of managing people to convince them to leak their confidential information. Hackers are smart in choosing the type of information they are looking for for this purpose. If a person becomes a target, hackers’ concern is to avail his/her passwords, bank information, or whatever personal information is there.
For this, social engineering becomes the medium to sheer trust, giving out personal information as passwords or credentials.
Social Engineering Attacks
If you are getting an email from a trusted friend, you will end up opening it without a second thought. But, wait, is it safe? This question is bitter but genuine in the social engineering attacks sense.
Different ways of manipulating people through social engineering are:
● Email from a Friend
There are ways to manipulate people’s data and get access to their contact-lits. Hackers are masters in this case. Hackers can manage several people in the contact list simultaneously. The best way is to share an email attached with malware in the form of a link or download.
● Email from Trusted Resource
Phishing attacks are common these days. These are the ways of imitating trusted sources and manipulating people with a compelling story or text like job offers, prizes, or rewards.
Sometimes, emails asking for help, and you can’t stop yourself from answering that mail and fall prey to phishing attacks.
● Tempting Cases
It is one of the most common attacks. You only have to click a wrong link redirecting to a malicious site offering you your favorite download link. It happens when people are looking for resources for free downloads and land into hackers’ cages.
It can be as a scheme or coupon available for free. You don’t have to access everything to get it for free.
Signs of Social Engineering Attacks
Are you wondering how you would recognize a social engineering attack? So, here is the next concept about signs that will help you figure out social engineering attacks.
● Urgent Messages
The speed or urgency of a message can help you figure out social engineering attack. Since these attacks are short-lived, you will get pressure to react at that moment. Be careful while choosing an option.
● Unexpected Downloads
Make sure the downloads you receive is what you asked for in a while. If it is something you didn’t ask for, do not open it.
● Email Hijacking
Hackers are profound in dealing with email hijacks. Do not answer emails if you feel it unexpected. First, confirm from the sender and then open it.
● Foreign Lottery Offers
It happens several times. Even in TV shows, they report these kinds of cases to aware people. If you are getting a mail delivering you about a lottery winning, you should complain at cyber cell instead of responding.
There are ways to social engineering attacks, but you can protect yourself. Immediately delete financial aids emails or messages, do not open unexpected emails and avoid downloading free resources, as you will redirect to malicious sites.
Final Thoughts
Social engineering is another weapon of hackers to get crucial information about people and perform scandals. It is an easy way to manipulate people as it uses your social list to do the same.