Technology

Top Social Engineering Threats of Today

<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">When people think of security threats&comma; they think of hackers and robbers&period; But your real threat comes from engineers&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Social engineering is any activity that manipulates people into providing confidential information&period; Unfortunately&comma; it&&num;8217&semi;s on the rise&period; Google processes <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;onlinedegrees&period;und&period;edu&sol;blog&sol;social-engineering&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">more than 18 million<&sol;a> social engineering emails every day&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">The threat is significant&period; You can have your identity stolen and your business sabotaged&period; Yet even security professionals cannot provide social engineering examples&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">If you <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;newsforpublic&period;com&sol;cyber-security-important-modern-day-society&sol;">want to keep your business safe&comma; you need to know<&sol;a> a few&period; Here are five&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Phishing<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Phishing is the single most common security threat&period; It makes up <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;csoonline&period;com&sol;article&sol;3153707&sol;top-cybersecurity-facts-figures-and-statistics&period;html" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">more than 80 percent<&sol;a> of reported security incidents&period; That includes both hacking and social engineering attacks&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">It occurs when a hacker contacts a target&period; The hacker presents themselves as a legitimate source&comma; usually the target&&num;8217&semi;s boss or supervisor&period; They ask them to install malware or share personal information&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Most phishing occurs through email&period; But it can happen through social media&comma; chat applications&comma; and phone calls&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Fortunately&comma; phishing is one of the easiest social networking threats to stop&period; Many emails look like they are from a trusted source&comma; but they contain typos or strange comments&period; If you receive an email with information that doesn&&num;8217&semi;t seem right&comma; delete it immediately&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Tell your employees that you will never send them an email asking for personal details&period; Give them the sources that would send them emails&comma; ideally in a printed list&period; If they receive an email from an address not on that list&comma; tell them to ignore it&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Never download a file attached to a suspicious email&period; It can contain anything&period; Never click on a link within the email&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Spear Phishing<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Spear phishing is related to phishing&comma; but it has distinctions&period; Like phishing&comma; spear phishing takes place through emails and text messages&period; However&comma; these emails contain personal information that makes them seem legitimate&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Many social media accounts are public&comma; so anyone can view posts and biographical details&period; Hackers simply find a person&&num;8217&semi;s pages&comma; then place details from them in the email&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">As with phishing&comma; never open an email from a source you don&&num;8217&semi;t recognize&period; Give your employees lists of legitimate email addresses and tell them to ignore all others&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">If you suspect someone is looking at your social media pages to spear phish&comma; write a fake post&period; Include personal details you know are not true&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">If those details appear in a spear phishing email&comma; you know someone is looking at you&period; Make your pages and posts private&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Baiting<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Baiting is rarer than phishing&comma; but it&&num;8217&semi;s still important to know&period; Hackers leave a malware-filled device in a public place&comma; like a flash drive&period; Someone takes the flash drive and inserts it into their computer&comma; infecting the system&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Label all of your personal devices&comma; including CD ROMs and drives&period; Do not insert any devices into your computer that you do not recognize&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">If you find something you don&&num;8217&semi;t recognize&comma; put it in the lost and found&period; Send a message to your employees asking if it belongs to someone&period; But make sure no one inserts it into their computer&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">If baiting occurs often&comma; consider physical security measures like monitoring entranceways&period; Keep a log of access cards&period; If an employee reports that theirs has been stolen&comma; take immediate measures&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Install antivirus software on all company computers&period; It provides a basic level of protection in case a piece of malware is downloaded&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Extortion<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Extortion can occur in several ways&period; Someone can blackmail someone else with personal information&period; They can obtain this information through legal and illicit means&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">A hacker can download key trackers onto a computer&period; When someone types in their personal information&comma; it goes straight to the hacker&period; The hacker then notifies the target and asks for money in exchange for not exposing the information&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Ransomware encrypts files on a computer&comma; making them inaccessible&period; A window then appears&comma; saying that files will get deleted if the target does not pay&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">If you have sensitive information&comma; do not store it on computers&period; Use safes and safety deposit boxes to store it&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">If you must keep something on a computer&comma; use an air-gapped device and <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;proxy-store&period;com&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener" data-saferedirecturl&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;google&period;com&sol;url&quest;q&equals;https&colon;&sol;&sol;proxy-store&period;com&sol;&amp&semi;source&equals;gmail&amp&semi;ust&equals;1625670159592000&amp&semi;usg&equals;AFQjCNEZ0klhkeEWDTj3xFvliAp4eQ7BRg">cheap proxies<&sol;a>&period; Stay off of Wi-Fi and encrypt the files on your hard drive&period; Store the device in a location that no one knows about&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Hackers can lie about the information they have&period; Don&&num;8217&semi;t provide any money to someone you think has nothing on you&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Take your infected computer to a professional&period; Do not try to resolve ransomware on your own&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2 style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Tailgating<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<hr &sol;>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Tailgating is one of the few physical social engineering techniques&period; An attacker follows a target into a secure location&period; They get in when someone holds the door for them or asks to borrow a device&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">When a hacker tailgates into an office&comma; they often head straight to the Wi-Fi network&period; They can disrupt services from their computer and&sol;or access personal information&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Tailgating is a way many thieves case an office&period; They look around for entrance and exit ways&comma; then come back at night and steal belongings&period; They can also steal an access card&comma; letting them enter whenever they want&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Make sure you can secure your Wifi network from threats&period; Read articles like <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;setapp&period;com&sol;how-to&sol;secure-wifi-network-from-any-threats" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noopener">https&colon;&sol;&sol;setapp&period;com&sol;how-to&sol;secure-wifi-network-from-any-threats<&sol;a> to understand the safety measures you&&num;8217&semi;ll need to know&period; Talk to your IT staff about additional precautions you can take&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Install surveillance cameras on the entranceways into a building&period; If an unauthorized person enters&comma; download their photograph&period; Keep track of who enters a building and when&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Have extra security measures at night&period; Hire roaming security guards who can walk through your building and monitor all points&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h2>The Most Common Kinds of Social Engineering<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Social engineering is hacking combined with confidence tricks&period; But if you know the most common kinds&comma; you can avoid getting duped&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Avoid phishing and spear phishing by deleting any suspicious emails&period; Never provide any personal information to accounts you don&&num;8217&semi;t recognize&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Avoid baiting by not inserting CD ROMs or flash drives into your computer&period; Keep private information off your computer to dodge extortion attempts&period; Keep an eye on entranceways to avoid tailgating&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p style&equals;"text-align&colon; justify&semi;">Your safety depends on knowing the facts&period; Follow our coverage for the latest security updates&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

Hardik Patel

Hardik Patel is a Digital Marketing Consultant and professional Blogger. He has 16+ years experience in SEO, SMO, SEM, Online reputation management, Affiliated Marketing and Content Marketing.

Share
Published by
Hardik Patel

Recent Posts

BuzzSumo Alternatives 2026- 10 Best Free and Paid BuzzSumo Alternatives

Are you finding Websites like BuzzSumo? Here are Top 10 Best Free and Paid BuzzSumo…

4 days ago

How to Manage a Construction Zone

Managing a construction zone is one of the most critical responsibilities in the building industry.…

5 days ago

5 Key Considerations When Using Bottle-Top Dispensers in Pharmaceutical Labs

Bottle-top dispensers are essential tools used in pharmaceutical labs because they allow and accurate dispensing…

7 days ago

How to Budget a Home Renovation Like a Pro

Renovating your home can be both exciting and overwhelming. Whether you’re updating a single room…

1 week ago

Stream2Watch Alternatives For Watching Sports Online 2026

Are you Finding Stream2Watch Alternatives Websites? Here are 18+ Websites like Stream2Watch to watch live…

1 week ago

Best Einthusan Alternatives 2026 – Sites like Einthusan for Streaming Free Movies

Are you finding Einthusan Alternatives websites? Here are Top 9 Alternatives of Einthusan. Sites like…

1 week ago