Cybercriminals take advantage of advanced technology and methods for online attacks. The most common method that cybercriminals use is of manipulating people through trust and their emotions, or in other words, social engineering. Let’s look in detail at what social engineering is, how cybercriminals use social engineering to steal personal information, and how to prevent yourself from social engineering attacks.
What Is Social Engineering?
Research Prospect, in their cyber security sample, explain Social engineering as a type of cyber attack that involves manipulating people to divulge sensitive information or to take an action that is not in their best interest. Social engineers use various techniques to exploit the natural human tendency to trust others, including impersonation, deception, and manipulation.
How Does Social Engineering Work?
The social engineering attack cycle involves several steps cybercriminals use to carry out a social engineering attack successfully.
Here are the typical steps of the social engineering attack cycle:
1. Research & Planning
The first step is for the attacker to research the target or targets. This may involve gathering information from social media, online profiles, and public records to learn about the target’s interests, affiliations, and other personal information. Based on the information gathered in the research phase, the attacker plans the attack, selecting the social engineering technique that is most likely to be successful against the target. This may involve crafting a compelling message, creating a fake website, or preparing a pretext that will be used to gain the target’s trust.
2. Contact
The attacker initiates contact with the target using the chosen social engineering technique, which includes sending an email, making a phone call, or reaching out through a social media platform. Once contact has been made, the attacker seeks to establish rapport with the target using flattery or creating a sense of urgency to gain the target’s trust and cooperation.
