How Can Identifying Social Engineering Attacks Enhance Security?

For those unfamiliar with the term, a social engineering attack poses a unique type of cybersecurity risk. Rather than a network being attacked by a traditional virus or other source, social engineering attacks exploit the people who work for networks. By using scams or other untruthful means, a person will attempt to get malware onto your network through your employees.

What are the stages of a social engineering attack?

There are four primary stages to a social engineering attack. By learning to recognize these stages, you can better train your employees to avoid potentially falling into the trap of a hacker or scammer.

1. Preparation

The first step in any social engineering attack is preparation. This stage is when a potential cyber attacker will gather information on their intended target. They will identify the employee they wish to target, collect background information on this person via social media or other means, and determine the best way to trick them.

2. Deception

During the second stage of a socially engineered attack, the attacker will engage the target using the information found during the preparation stage. Typically, this is where the attacker deceives the target into giving up sensitive information or into clicking a link that allows the attacker to plant malware to break through firewalls.

3. Information Gathering

With the malware in place and information gathered through pretexting or other means, the attacker will start siphoning personal and financial information from individuals or your entire organization.

4. Completion

During the final stage of a socially engineered attack, the cybercriminal will close off the loop with the target by pretending the issue or situation has been resolved. They will then remove any malware to avoid detection and escape with all the information they stole.

How to identify a socially engineered attack

By identifying a social engineering attack during the first two stages, you can avoid losing crucial information to the attacker. First and foremost, train your employees to not respond to any phone call or text that urgently requires personal or financial information about themselves or your organization. Ensure that your employees are only communicating via approved work channels. Additionally, add spam filters to your personal or company phones that keep a log of recorded spam numbers.

Train yourself and your employees to recognize the signs of two of the most common forms of social engineering attacks: spear phishing and phishing attack. During the latter, an attacker will send an email urgently requesting the target to complete something that requires them to input personal information. For example, a phishing email headline may read something similar to:

“Urgent: Corporate Password Expiring in 2 Days”

Within the body of the email, they’ll include a link to a fake or malicious website designed to look exactly like the actual site. When the user puts in their current credentials to “change” their password, the attacker will have their real information and can plant malware.

During spear phishing, the attacker targets an individual by using personal information. This may involve them sending an email impersonating a friend or family member requesting money for an urgent purpose. A link will be included that requires your employee to input bank account information, for example, for them to send the funds. After this attack, the individuals’ financial information would be discovered.

How to protect against social engineering attacks

Recognizing common social engineering threats gives you a better chance of protecting against them. Teach yourself or your employees the common warning signs discussed above. Also, take the following precautions:

• Avoid responding to suspicious emails or other forms of contact that demand a sense of urgency or personal data
• Install up-to-date anti-virus software
• Require employees to change login credentials every few months, or even a few weeks for those specific employees dealing with sensitive data
• Utilize multi-factor authentication, such as verifying a login by sending a text message to your phone
• Teach your employees and yourself the signs of baiting

Protect your employees and data today

The members of your workforce are integral to the success of your organization. As such, it’s important to teach them the dangers and signs of various cyberattacks, such as a social engineering attack. Improving security measures at your organization is not just about keeping your anti-virus software up to date but identifying and plugging all possible sources for an attack. If your business is in Columbus, Cleveland, or Akron, and you’re ready to learn how to protect against social engineering tactics and other security threats, get in touch with us here at Warwick today.