people working

On average, organizations globally lost $12.7 million in 2017 in social engineering attacks. If you’re in charge of security in your organization, you may think you’re not in the crosshairs of social engineering attacks. However, the weakest link in the chain is often the employees who are new to the organization. Unfortunately, most new employees are unaware of social engineering attacks. 

The best way to prevent social engineering attacks is to have knowledge of the most common advances and tricks used by social engineering attackers and train your employees to recognize and combat them. Certain people are more susceptible to social engineering due to a lack of a technical background, a low level of skepticism, or pureness of heart.

If you want to defeat social engineering attacks, you need to know what they look like and how you might be vulnerable. This blog post will outline the most common social engineering attacks that security researchers use to help you be on your guard.

Social Engineering Attacks Companies Need to be Wary of

1 - Phishing

A phishing email tries to trick you into clicking on a malicious link or opening an infected attachment. These can come from an email that appears to be from a bank or something that has your attention. However, the link or attachment is actually a dangerous program that will infect your computer.

2 - Faking Web Login Screens

A social engineering attack, known as “out-of-band authentication” takes advantage of the fact that most people are used to seeing security prompts on their computers. So, the attacker will trick the user into thinking the system is asking for a password, but it is actually asking for something else, like personal information.

3 - Dressing Up as Hobbies

This is another type of social engineering attack where the attacker will use the personal information he has gathered about you to send you emails about his interests. This could be an email that looks like it is from someone you know, but it is actually an attacker who wants to gain sensitive information about the recipient.

4 - Pharming

Pharming is another type of social engineering attack that is used to steal information. The attacker will send an email that says it is from a company that you do business with. They will claim that there is a problem with your account or identity. You are then directed to a fake website that looks just like the real thing to enter your personal information.

5 - Fake Security Flaws

In this type of social engineering attack, the attacker communicates with a user or admin to convince them to download a malicious program. The program will falsely tell the user that their security is compromised, and they must download a program to fix it.

Conclusion

These are just a few of the most common social engineering attacks. But, you can see how they work and how you might be affected by them at home or at work. Make sure you keep your browser updated and keep your personal information private.

Good social engineering attack prevention is a matter of making sure the people at the top of the chain know what to look for and making sure that the weakest link in the chain stays safe. Everyone in the chain must practice safe internet use and be aware of what is going on around them.

If you want to strengthen your company against these attacks, come to SIP Oasis. We are a reliable IT solutions and network security provider in Birmingham, AL. We make it a point to respond to your calls and needs immediately. Count on us to make your IT easy.