In cybersecurity, social engineering refers to manipulating individuals to gain access to personal and financial information or computer systems.
This technique is based on psychological manipulation rather than technical hacking and targets human vulnerabilities.
Attackers exploit people’s natural tendency to trust by tricking them into revealing sensitive information, clicking on malicious links, or taking actions that compromise security.
Social engineering attacks are a type of digital fraud that relies on human interaction and psychological tactics rather than direct technological breaches.
By investigating the victim, they identify vulnerabilities and build trust, encouraging actions that violate security norms.
Common tactics in social engineering include phishing, spear phishing, baiting, malware, pretexting, quid pro quo, tailgating, vishing, and water-holing.
These tactics can play on human emotions, such as pretending to be a CEO and convincing employees to make urgent money transfers.
These tactics can play on people’s emotions, causing them to make hasty decisions without proper verification.
The most common types of social engineering are phishing, whaling, baiting, diversion theft, BEC, smishing, quid pro quo, pretexting, honeytrap and tailgating/piggybacking.
These attacks become particularly effective and dangerous by exploiting human emotions. Awareness and skepticism are key to protecting against such attacks.
Cybercriminals gain access to confidential information or systems by exploiting human psychology through social engineering.
Phishing involves sending legitimate-looking emails to extract personal details. Baiting tricks victims into revealing information by offering free downloads or giveaways.
In pretexting, stories or scenarios are made up to obtain sensitive data. Tailgating involves trespassing into secure areas by following authorized people.
Social engineering is a major cyber threat, accounting for 98% of cyber attacks. It is a form of psychological manipulation that persuades individuals to reveal confidential information by pretending to be a familiar person or organization.
These attacks exploit human error and trust and are difficult and unpredictable to prevent.
By playing on emotions, it leaves individuals vulnerable to security breaches. Regular awareness and vigilance are vital to protect against these sophisticated and manipulative cyber threats.
