1119252245 by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub

What Is Social Engineering?

Social engineering is a term that is widely used but poorly understood. It’s generally

defined as any type of attack that is nontechnical in nature and that involves some type of

human interaction with the goal of trying to trick or coerce a victim into revealing

information or violate normal security practices.

Social engineers are interested in gaining information they can use to carry out actions

such as identity theft or stealing passwords, or in finding out information for later use.

Scams may include trying to make a victim believe the attacker is technical support or

someone in authority. An attacker may dress a certain way with the intent of fooling the

victim into thinking the person has authority. The end goal of each approach is for the

victim to drop their guard or for the attacker to gain enough information to better

coordinate and plan a later attack.

Social engineering is one of the few types of attacks that can be classified

as nontechnical in the context of the CEH exam. The attack category relies on the

weaknesses or strengths of human beings rather than application of technology.

Human beings have been shown to be very easily manipulated into providing

information or other details that may be useful to an attacker.

If it helps, you can think of social engineers in the same context as con artists. Typically,

individuals who engage in this type of activity are very good at recognizing telltale signs or

behaviors that can be useful in extracting information, such as the following:

Moral Obligation An attacker may prey on a victim’s desire to provide assistance

because they feel compelled to do so out of a sense of duty.

Trust Human beings have an inherent tendency to trust others. Social engineers exploit a human’s tendency to trust by using buzzwords or other means. In the case of buzzwords,

for example, use of familiar terms may lead a victim to believe that an attacker has insider

knowledge of a project or place.

Threats A social engineer may threaten a victim if they do not comply with a request.

Something for Nothing The attacker may promise a victim that for little or no work,

they will reap tremendous rewards.

Ignorance The reality is that many people do not realize the dangers associated with

social engineering and don’t recognize it as a threat.

Why Does Social Engineering Work?

Social engineering is effective for a number of reasons, each of which can be remedied or

exploited depending on whether you are the defender or the attacker. Let’s take a look at

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