Social Engineering
WHAT IS Social Engineering?
Social engineering is the art of manipulating people in such a way that it benefits the attacker. This type of attack vector is usually meticulously planned due to its heavy reliance on human interaction and therefor often results in the targeted individual breaking best practise security procedures in order for the attacker to gain access to systems, networks, physical locations and in worst case scenarios – financial gain. Many social engineering exploits simply rely on people’s willingness to be helpful.
Criminals use social engineering tactics because it is usually easier to exploit your natural inclination to trust than it is to discover ways to hack your software. Information and Cyber Security is all about knowing who and what to trust. It is imperative to have the ability to differentiate between when to take a person at their word, and when to raise an alarm when they are not whom they pretend to be.
