Cybersecurity Threat Of Social Engineering

Cyber security threat is any criminal activity that has potential to take place through the use of computer devices and the internet. There are many types of cybersecurity threats today – they include social engineering, malware attack through viruses and warms, man-in-middle attack, denial of service attack, inject attack and supply chain attacks. This article will focus on and briefly introduce cybersecurity of social engineering.

Cyber security threats may come different sources technically known as vectors. Such sources may include state actors, terrorist groups, organized criminal groups, hackers, malicious insiders like; employee, supplier, vendor, competitor, etc.

Social engineering happens when a criminal deceives internet users to provide sensitive personal information; the information given is oftentimes used to commit various kinds of crimes against the person or the organization they represent. Social engineering attack makes use of tricks and games to get information from ignorant people and use such information to commit cybercrime. It is a malicious activity.

Social engineering is gaining popularity. The trend is also disturbing due to increasing presence of innocent and ignorant computer users who knew next to nothing about it. Social engineering exploit human curiosity, feeling, ignorance, greed, naivety and mistakes to strike.

Common types of social engineering attacks include; baiting, phishing, vishing, pretexting, and smishing.

See below, brief description of these various methods of social engineering.

Baiting: the attacker would lure the user through free gifts and/or others largesse.

Phishing: the attacker would send fraudulent email pretending to have come from a trusted source.

Vishing:   the attacker would use voice phone call and pretend to come a trusted source.

Pretexting: the attacker pretends to represent a trusted authority so as to elicit information from the user.

Smishing: the attacker would use fraudulent text message to trick the user.

Every act of criminality takes advantage of weak controls or ignorance in some cases. This is technically known as opportunity. With this in mind, the dark web guys (the criminals) prowl on cyber space; spying, hunting, exploiting and experimenting with many of the weak links and the ignorance of users; oftentimes they are successful. To avoid being a victim of social engineering see below; a few recommended guidelines you should practice so as to keep you protected from this menace.

• Activate 2-factor authentication in all online accounts, including social media.
• Avoid accessing shared links from strangers, always reconfirm shared links from a known sender.
• Avoid use of public wifi; if you must use it, do not expose personal information while there.
• Avoid sharing personal information publicly on social media, it exposes you to criminals.
• You may wish to patronize software which protects against the threats of social engineering.
• Do not share personal information or “sent code/pin” to those who would call on phone and claim to be agents from your bank or financial service providers. Visit your bank/others for transactions and confirmations.
• Do not disclose or click a shared link/code/pin from strangers who would claim to be “Admin” from a WhatsApp group you belong to. Call the Admins to verify and reconfirm before taking decision to accept.
• Maintain situational awareness (that is, alertness) at all times.

Cyber security threat of social engineering is real. It is very common in cyber space where contemporary presence is gaining increasing dominance. Many internet users are not aware of this threat, hence this enlightenment.

ALSO READ: CYBERCRIME OF IDENTITY THEFT

About Author

Azubuike Nwenewo

is a seasoned Security Practitioner; Police Officer, Security Coach, Blogger and Author. He is passionate about peacebuilding and value protection. He is an advocate for positive peace and demilitarization. He likes reading and writing.

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