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Social Engineer Media: Top Role In Security Attack

Hardest form of security attack

Social engineering media plays a top role in security attack to gather confidential information from an individual person illegally. The people who do this kind of hacking are known as social engineers. This media has its own techniques and tricks to follow for successful social engineering. These engineers would follow simple or complex techniques to manipulate others to reveal information without getting suspected.

Most of the social engineers would contact people through email or mobile or using the website that are being used by users most often. It actually kills on qualities of human nature such as to desire to be helpful, tendency to trust and fear of getting into trouble. It is the most effective method to retrieve required information around security obstacles. Till now, this method of hacking is the hardest form of security attack.

Methods:

In order to persuade someone, the social engineers would follow two methods:

A direct route
A peripheral route

Let’s see in detail about these methods.

Direct route method

In this method, the persuader would use systematic and logical arguments to stimulate a positive response prompting the user to provide the information without suspicion.

Peripheral route method

Here, the persuader would use peripheral cue that is unnecessary cues, mental short cuts and misrepresent their objectives to prompt them for acceptance without hesitation. Sometimes the persuaders would make some statements to the target people that make a strong emotion like fear or excitement.

We can classify social engineering into two categories, namely

Human-based and computer-based

In human-based, person to person interaction would happen to retrieve the required information. However, in computer based, instead of direct invention of human, the computer software would collect the needed data from the recipient system without his/her knowledge.

Impersonation

Case studies are stating that the main target of the social engineering media is help desk. When fraudsters need some other personal data, they may call the helpdesk and get the required information, even the confidential one.

In computer based, the engineer would design the software which would be a pop-up window or email attachment. In this case, whenever the recipient open the email, the virus would attack the system and gather the information from the system and send it back to the mailer without recipient knowledge.

Unknown websites

Another way is by using entertainment or social networks. For example, to play a game or chat with someone you need to register yourself with the corresponding websites. Some websites may ask your personal Id’s and password by saying registration purpose, but here the intension is to gather the data without your recognition.

Phishing:

Phishing is a technique in which the phisher would send an email that appears to come from a legitimate business like bank or credit card company and ask your bank details, home address, ATM pin etc.

So it is advisable for all, to aware of this social cheating media to protect you and your secured information.

By: Information Security..

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