Response to discussion

Social Engineering Attacks

We see the incidents regarding the data breach so as to resolve this situation organizations do everything to be under secure network as to protect their information and not to compromise any confidential information. These breaches usually done by some expertise hackers but when coming to social engineering which are all together a different attacks this is usually done by exploiting the human weakness to obtain their information. Some of the engineering attacks are phishing, pretexting, baiting, Quid Pro Quo, Tailgating

Phishing is about creating some kind of urgency with the victim and then make them click the link they sent. Pretexting is about creating a fallacious trust with the users that is hardly to disregard. Baiting is about creating the curiosity among the users that is often performed by offering some kind of material the users need. Quid Pro Quo is about offering something to the users in trade of information from them. Tailgating is about entering into the unauthorized area who does not have the access.

Here is one attack that is successful in accessing the organization information which is performed by the baiting attack. It is done by a person who wants to test if the employees are prone to baiting attack and he has done this by throwing some thumb drives in organization parking lot. Employees who found those thumb drives plugged into their computers in the organization. But these thumb drives got some software in it which when they are plugged gets the information regarding the organization.

These kinds of attacks are prevented by educating the employees the different social engineering attacks they are prone to, and how the Information they revealed would be a problem to them and their organization. It is worth speaking to someone in the social groups like family, friends and colleagues before they actually release their information.

Reference:

Tripwire, I. (2017). 5 Social Engineering Attacks to Watch Out For. [online] The State of Security. Available at: https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/security-awareness/5-social-engineering-attacks-to-watch-out-for/ [Accessed 2 Nov. 2017].

Web.archive.org. (2017). Dark Reading - Host security - Social Engineering, the USB Way - Security. [online] Available at: http://web.archive.org/web/20060713134051/http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=95556&WT.svl=column1_1 [Accessed 2 Nov. 2017].