Introduction: Social engineering exploits human psychology to manipulate individuals into revealing sensitive information, posing significant risks to both individuals and organizations. Understanding common tactics and implementing strong cybersecurity measures can help protect against these threats.

Protection Strategies:

• Cyber awareness training for employees.
• Implementing multi-factor authentication and strong password policies.
• Regular monitoring and auditing of access.
• Developing an incident response plan.

Social engineering is perhaps one of the most insidious types of cyberattacks.  

These scams exploit human psychology, manipulating individuals into revealing confidential information or taking actions that jeopardize security. They not only pose a risk to individuals and their personal data but also to organizations of all sizes.

Empowering yourself with the knowledge and tools to identify, prevent, and respond to social engineering threats is crucial. By cultivating a culture of cyber awareness, your organization can effectively defend against the potentially devastating impacts of these sophisticated scams.

What is a social engineering attack?  

“Social engineering attacks manipulate people into sharing information that they shouldn’t share, downloading software that they shouldn’t download, visiting websites they shouldn’t visit, sending money to criminals or making other mistakes that compromise their personal or organizational security.”

This definition from IBM is a good place to begin understanding the intricacies of social engineering. At a high level, these attacks aim to deceive individuals into revealing sensitive information. This often includes passwords, personal identification details, or financial information.

What makes these attacks so devious is their approach to exploiting human psychology and behavior rather than just technological vulnerabilities. Social engineering tactics leverage the natural tendencies of people to trust others or desire to help. They often create a sense of urgency to get individuals to act quickly.

On a deeper level, these attacks often highlight that the weakest link in any security infrastructure is the human element. Attackers use direct communication – often impersonating a legitimate person or entity – to bypass robust security systems and gain access to information and systems.  

Common social engineering techniques

While various types of cyberattacks involve malicious tactics, social engineering is distinct in its approach. Some of the most common types of social engineering tactics include:  

Phishing

Phishing is by far one of the most common forms of social engineering. A recent report shared by CNBC estimates that around 31,000 phishing attacks are sent on a daily basis.  

This tactic sees attackers pose as trustworthy entities, such as banks or online services, through a phishing email or text. The messages they send often contain links to fake websites that closely resemble legitimate ones, tricking users into entering their login credentials.

This number is only increasing thanks to artificial intelligence (AI) technologies like ChatGPT. Attackers can use AI to create sophisticated, targeted emails that seem incredibly legitimate.

Spear phishing

Spear phishing takes the above tactic one step further. Rather than sending mass messages, it focuses on a specific individual or organization. Attackers gather information about the victim to create personalized messages that appear real to increase the likelihood of success.  

This technique often involves detailed knowledge of the victim's interests, role, or relationships. A common business email compromise (BEC) scheme is when attackers impersonate executives to instruct employees to make unauthorized wire transfers.

Vishing (voice phishing)

Not all malicious actors hide behind a screen.

Vishing involves phone calls instead of emails. Attackers will impersonate legitimate organizations or government agencies and create a sense of urgency to prompt the victim to divulge personal information.  

For instance, a caller may claim there are issues with a victim’s bank account and request verification of sensitive details.

Pretexting

This is a mix of spear phishing and vishing. An attacker will get to know their victim and create a fabricated scenario to obtain information from them.  

This may involve impersonating a colleague, a vendor, or a service provider. An attacker might call an employee pretending to be from IT support, claiming they need to verify the employee’s credentials for system upgrades.

Baiting

Baiting involves enticing victims with the promise of something desirable. This could be in the form of free software or enticing downloads. Sometimes, they may even bait a victim with physical devices left in public spaces – which is why you should never trust a USB drive you find.  

Once the victim takes the bait and engages with the malicious item, their system becomes compromised, often installing malware.  

Scareware

While baiting entices victims with something that is too good to be true, scareware uses fear to manipulate individuals. Victims are often presented with alarming messages indicating that their device is infected with malware or is at risk. This creates a sense of urgency for them to take immediate action, such as clicking a link to download antivirus software.  

In many cases, the software offered is itself malware or does not provide any real protection.  

Tailgating

As the name suggests, this tactic occurs when an unauthorized individual gains physical access to a restricted area by following an authorized person. This can involve simply asking someone to hold the door open or using stolen access cards.  

Once inside, attackers can steal information or install devices for data collection.

Water holing

These sneaky attacks target specific groups or organizations by infecting websites that are frequently visited by the intended victims. Attackers identify websites that the target audience is likely to use and compromise them by injecting malicious code. When victims visit the infected site, they unwittingly download malware.

This tactic is particularly effective because it relies on exploiting the trust users have in familiar and reputable sites.

The impact of social engineering attacks

Social engineering attacks have far-reaching consequences for organizations. While the initial attack may seem harmless, once an attacker has access to the information, they desire they can begin to wreak havoc from within.

Here are some of the important consequences of social engineering organizations should consider:  

Data breach

Any unauthorized access to sensitive data results in a data breach. There are many things bad actors can do with this access, from stealing information and holding it for ransom to malware that allows for ongoing surveillance and data extraction.

Organizations may suffer permanent data loss due to the deletion or alteration of critical files. Recovery efforts can be time-consuming, costly, and sometimes futile.  

Financial loss

According to Cybersecurity Dive, the financial impact of phishing attacks has quadrupled from 2015 to 2021. In 2021 alone, the average cost of these attacks rose to a staggering $14.8 million per year for U.S. companies.

There are direct financial losses such as when an attacker diverts funds or manipulates transactions. However, it’s often the cost of a data breach (which includes mitigation, recovery, and restoration) that can add up.    

Reputational damage

It is no secret that data breaches can severely impact an organization’s reputation. Customers may lose trust and hesitate to share personal information with organizations that have previously suffered a breach. Rebuilding a damaged reputation can take years of hard work and resources.

Operational disruption

Social engineering attacks have the power to stop organizations in their tracks. Just consider the 2023 cyberattack that targeted MGM Resorts. A fraudulent call to their Service Desk resulted in outages across their Las Vegas establishments. Slot machines, room keys, and more guest services simply stopped working.

This brought operations to a halt and the company was expected to lose $100 million attempting to restore its systems.

How to protect against social engineering attacks

Protecting yourself from social engineering requires a combination of constant vigilance and strong cybersecurity measures. This dual approach ensures your organization is protected from all fronts.

Here is a closer look at how to protect yourself from social engineering attacks:

Cyber awareness: your first line of defense

Your employees are the first line of defense to stop social engineering attacks. This starts with ensuring your teams know what these types of attacks entail and how to spot one. Organizations can help enhance employee awareness and vigilance through:

• Regular Workshops and Seminars: Conduct frequent training sessions that cover the latest social engineering techniques and real-world examples. ‍
• Creating a Culture of Security: Encourage an environment where employees feel comfortable reporting suspicious activities without fear of repercussions. ‍
• Using Real-Life Scenarios: Share stories of social engineering incidents to illustrate potential vulnerabilities.

Protecting yourself from social engineering with cyber awareness training is just the first step. Also, consider implementing simulated phishing attacks to test employee responses and identify areas needing improvement.

Practical protection strategies

If employees are your first line of defense, your cybersecurity stack is the second. If an attacker is successful at obtaining credentials, you should have measures in place to stop them from gaining access.

Some important protection strategies include:

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Require MFA for access to sensitive systems and data, enhancing security by adding an extra verification layer. ‍
• Regularly Updating Password Policies: Enforce the use of strong, unique passwords and encourage regular updates to prevent unauthorized access. ‍
• Access Controls: Limit access to sensitive information based on roles and responsibilities, ensuring employees only have access to what they need. ‍
• Monitoring and Auditing: Regularly review access permissions and monitor usage to detect any anomalies that may indicate a social engineering attack. ‍
• Vulnerability Assessments: Conduct regular assessments to identify weaknesses in security protocols and employee practices that could be exploited. ‍
• Anti-Phishing Software: Implement tools that identify and block phishing attempts. This is more comprehensive than spam filters since they alert users to potential threats.

Preparation is key

When all else fails, it’s essential to be prepared to respond to a social engineering attack and subsequent data breach. An Incident Response Plan can help to establish a clear reporting process for employees to follow when they suspect a social engineering attempt. It should include who to contact and procedures for isolating the attack before it can spread.

Similarly, develop communication protocols to inform stakeholders and manage public relations during and after an incident.

Shore up your cybersecurity defenses with ThreatLocker®

Social engineering attacks are increasingly prevalent and costly. ThreatLocker offers robust solutions to combat these threats by providing advanced application Allowlisting and Ringfencing™ as a dual containment strategy. By controlling which applications can run within an organization and monitoring user behavior, ThreatLocker can help you shore up your defenses.  

To learn more about how ThreatLocker works book a free demo today!