Hacking Humans: Exploiting Trust

Think hacking is all about codes and technical exploits? Think again. Social engineering is the art of hacking human psychology—no coding, no circuits, just manipulation. While all other attacks target the machines, networks or even systems, but this unique hacking method exploits the most unpredictable element: People.

It is an art of manipulating people to perform certain tasks like clicking a malicious link, forwarding sensitive a message or granting unauthorized access. These actions often lead to the unintentional reveal of confidential information. It neither requires a code nor a high-end tool. All it takes is a convincing story, a fake email, or even a friendly gesture. Social Engineering exploits the human vulnerability of trust, allowing cybercriminals to gain access to data & bypassing security measures, with no evidence left behind.

Impersonating as a trusted colleague, pretending to be from tech-support or sending a fake “urgent” email from bank – any of these simple methods can be used by cybercriminal to trap you into compromising sensitive information.

In this blog, we will uncover how social engineering remains the most perilous cyber-attack, examine its types, learn from previous incidents, and discover ways to safeguard yourself and your organization.

Social Engineering, in technical language, refers to an attack method that uses psychological manipulation to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information or taking actions that hamper security. It evades technical protections by exploiting human weaknesses like trust, fear, or authority to obtain unauthorized entry into systems, networks, or information.

Social Engineering lifecycle includes 4 stages as follows

1. Investigate: The attacker researches and gathers information about the target to plan the attack.

2. Hook: The attacker establishes contact and gains the target’s trust through manipulation.

3. Play: The attacker executes the plan to extract sensitive information or exploit access.

4. Exit: The attacker removes traces of the attack and disengages without raising suspicion.

Social Engineering does not rely on a single tactic – it has evolved with time based on situation and the target. Over the time, attackers have developed variety of tactics to manipulate the victim. In the next section let us understand the common types of social engineering attack, breaking them down with real world examples to help you stay aware

Types of Social Engineering:

1. Phishing: Fake emails, messages, or websites mimic trusted entities to trick victims into sharing sensitive data, such as passwords or financial details. This is one of the most common and widely executed social engineering techniques.

2. Pre-texting: A fake identity of a trusted individual (like a bank employee or IT technician is created by the attacker to gain victim’s trust and gain sensitive information and/or access. This type of attacks relies majorly on social interaction.

3. Tailgating (Piggybacking): Attackers follow the authorized individuals to gain physical access to secured locations. In such cases attackers pretend to forget their access card or carry something heavy to invoke help from the victim.

4. Baiting: In this type of social engineering technique human vulnerability of greed is exploited by tempting victims with something appealing, like free USB drive or software download. Such freebies are then used to deliver malware or gain unauthorized access.

5. Vishing (Voice Phishing): This technique involves phone calls to deceive victims into revealing sensitive information. Attackers often pose as legitimate entities like banks, tech support, or government officials, leveraging urgency or fear to manipulate the victim.

After knowing well about types of social engineering, it is important to understand it’s impact in real-world. These attacks can have disastrous effects on individuals as well as organizations. Let us focus on such incidents from past which highlighted impact of social engineering attacks.

Twitter Hack 2020:

The twitter 2020 Hack was a significant event in the history of cybercrimes, where attacks used social engineering techniques like phishing to access internal tools and hijack accounts. This infographic highlights the key events of the attacks; and the consequences of twitter and its users.

Attackers used social engineering, such as phishing and impersonation, to gain access to Twitter's internal tools. This bypassed technical security and allowed them to hijack verified accounts. In response, Twitter temporarily locked down accounts and implemented stricter security measures, raising awareness of social engineering risks in the tech industry.

Google & Facebook Phishing Scam 2013

In this incident of phishing scam, cybercriminal impersonated a legitimate hardware supplier and sent fraudulent invoices to the employees at Google & Facebook. Over $100 million were transferred to the attackers account by employees who trusted the seemingly genuine emails. This scam was undetected for years before investigation. Later the culprit was arrested.

This incident highlights the impact of phishing and pretexting in manipulating individuals, and emphasizes the need for multiple layer verification in financial transactions.

While Social engineering attacks become more advanced, every individual must be aware of prevention technique against these kinds of attacks.

Staying alert, training, education, putting into practice MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication), maintaining guidelines for incident response and many more security precautions can be implemented to defend against Social Engineering.

To make it easier, Remember VITALS.

This mnemonic can effectively act as a shield against variety of Social Engineering attacks.

V: Verification of Requests (Requests regarding sensitive information and financial transactions need to verified.)

I: Implement MFA (Adding an extra layer of security can build a strong security posture.)

T: Training Employees (Employees at Organization must be trained and made aware regarding social engineering tactics. Phishing Simulation Campaigns must be held from time to time to check the vigilance.)

A: Access Control (Allowing limited access to information)

L: Leveraging Security Tools (Using advanced security tools like Spam Filters, Firewalls and Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS))

S: Stimulate Reporting (Maintaining an environment which promotes reporting of suspicious activities and potential security threats)

By implementing these security strategies, organizations can improve their security posture and reduce the risk of any kind of financial or reputational losses caused due to social engineering attacks. Staying alert in co-operation with active security measures is the key for safeguarding against these threats.

While no security measures are full proof but strengthening defenses and educating employees well can help in many cases. Evolving awareness and adapting security practices remain critical.

Social engineering is one of the most effective and dangerous threat in cybersecurity as these attack exploits human vulnerabilities. However, with proper training, advanced tools, and a security first mindset, it is easier for individuals and organizations to defend against these threats. To ensure a secure digital environment staying alert, informed, and prepared plays a major role.