Social Engineering

Overview

Social engineering manipulates human psychology to trick individuals into revealing confidential information or performing unsafe actions. It exploits trust rather than technical flaws.

Common Techniques

• Pretexting (posing as authority to extract info).
• Baiting (luring with free USBs or downloads).
• Tailgating (following someone into restricted areas).
• Phishing (digital form of social engineering).

Real-World Example

In 2011, RSA suffered a breach after employees were tricked into opening a phishing email, leading to stolen data critical for SecureID tokens.

Prevention

• Conduct security awareness training.
• Verify identities before sharing sensitive data.
• Use multi-factor authentication to reduce risks.