Social engineering has become an established and inevitable threat. Aksher Sheriff, CISSP, shares his personal experiences of dealing with the threat posed and the aftermath of an attack.
Unlike traditional cyberattacks that exploit technical vulnerabilities, social engineering preys on human psychology. Attackers manipulate emotions like trust, urgency and fear to trick people into handing over sensitive information, bypassing even the most advanced technological defenses.
A Personal Experience: Falling for a Toll Scam
Let me share a recent experience that demonstrates how convincing social engineering attacks can be. After a holiday vacation that involved driving through three U.S. states, I received a text message about an unpaid road toll. It seemed plausible because, six months earlier, I had missed paying a toll and was fined. This new message, timed perfectly after my trip, felt authentic. Without hesitation, I clicked the link, only to realize later that it was a scam. The attacker had crafted a believable message that exploited my previous experience, using it to deceive me.
This incident highlights the essence of social engineering: it targets people, not systems. No matter how strong your cybersecurity defenses are, if someone can manipulate human behavior, they can bypass those defenses.
Why Technology Alone Isn’t Enough
Many organizations rely on a robust set of technological defenses – firewalls, email security solutions, endpoint detection and response (EDR) systems – to protect against cyberattacks. While these tools are essential, they cannot fully address the human element that social engineering exploits. Here’s why:
- Phishing Attacks: Email security solutions can block most phishing attempts, but it only takes one convincing message to slip through. Once that email is in an inbox, no technology can stop a person from clicking on a malicious link if they believe it's legitimate.
- Malware: Even the most advanced EDR systems can detect and respond to suspicious activity, but they can’t prevent a user from unwittingly downloading a malicious attachment.
The bottom line is that technology addresses the symptoms of the problem, not the root cause: human vulnerability.
Real-World Lessons: How to Protect Yourself
To effectively combat social engineering, we need more than just a technology solution. We need awareness, vigilance, and practical strategies. Here are some real-world lessons and actionable tips that can be used to educate users and help protect against social engineering:
- Be Skeptical: Always question unexpected requests for sensitive information, even if they appear to come from someone known. Scammers often impersonate trusted contacts to create a false sense of security and trust.
- Verify Requests: Before sharing any information, verify the request by contacting the person or organization directly using known, trusted contact details. Don’t just reply to the message or click the provided link.
- Avoid Clicking on Suspicious Links: If an email or message is received from an unknown or unexpected source, don’t click on any links or download attachments. These could lead to phishing websites or install malware on the device being used.
- Use Strong, Unique Passwords: Create strong, unique passwords for all accounts (don’t duplicate login details) and store them securely using a password manager. This ensures that even if one account is compromised, others remain protected.
- Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Activate 2FA on all important accounts. Even if an attacker gets a password, they won’t be able to access the account without the second factor.
- Limit Information Sharing: Be cautious about sharing personal information online, especially on social media. Attackers are increasingly using publicly available details to craft more convincing and personalized scams.
- Pause Before Acting: If a message tries to trigger urgency (e.g., "act now" or "your account will be suspended"), take a moment to pause and evaluate the legitimacy of the request. Scammers thrive on creating a sense of urgency.
- Educate Yourself and Others: Stay informed about common social engineering tactics and share this knowledge with friends, family and colleagues. The more aware people are, the harder it becomes for attackers to succeed.
Balancing Technology and Human Vigilance
The key to protecting against social engineering attacks is striking the right balance between technology and human vigilance. While email security solutions, threat detection systems and 2FA are crucial to bolstering security and data protection, they’re not enough on their own. Attackers are always adapting, finding new ways to exploit the human element in cybersecurity.
That’s why it’s essential to foster a culture of skepticism and caution. Encourage others to question suspicious requests, verify communications and be mindful of the information shared online. After all, technology can’t replace critical thinking and awareness.
Aksher Sheriff, CISSP has over 19 years of experience in cybersecurity, networking and IT. He is a senior product manager, cybersecurity at Comcast Business. His cybersecurity activities span launching new cybersecurity products in the market, enabling security operations centers, providing security advisory to enterprise and mid-market customers and mentoring the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.
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