B 10: PEOPLE HACKING: UNDERSTANDING THE SOCIAL ENGINEERING THREAT LANDSCAPE

 

SOCIAL ENGINEERING THREAT LANDSCAPE
In the context of social engineering, understanding the threat landscape involves recognizing the various tactics and techniques used by attackers to manipulate human behaviour and exploit vulnerabilities.
Here are some key aspects:
Human Error:	A significant number of security incidents (40% by conservative estimates) are caused by human behaviour, such as clicking on a phishing link
Social Engineering Techniques:	Social engineering is a broad term used for malicious activities accomplished through human interactions. It uses psychological manipulation to trick users into making security mistakes or giving away sensitive information
Phishing:	The most dominant form of social engineering attacks are phishing attacks. Phishing is a form of fraud where an attacker pretends to be a person or company known to the target and sends them a message asking for access to a secure system in the hope of exploiting that access for financial gain.
Spear Phishing:	Spear phishing messages are targeted, personalized attacks aimed at a specific individual. These attacks are typically designed to appear to come from someone the user already trusts, with the goal of tricking the target into clicking a malicious link in the message
Whale-phishing or Whaling:	Whaling is a form of spear phishing aimed at high-profile, high-value targets like celebrities, company executives, board members, and government official.
AI’s Role in Social Engineering:	AI supercharges the threat of social engineering by offering tools to execute these deceptive strategies with both precision and scale
Understanding these aspects of the social engineering threat landscape can help individuals and organizations recognize, defend against, and mitigate the risks these attacks pose.