What Is Social Engineering in Cyber Security and How Can You Protect Your Business?
Introduction: The Human Factor in Cyber Security
While firewalls, security monitoring and endpoint protection play a vital role in cyber security, they’re no match for a well crafted phishing email or a convincing phone call from a fake IT technician.
These types of attacks fall under Social Engineering, a form of cyberattack that manipulates people, rather than systems. In fact, it’s been reported that 97% of successful cyberattacks involve some form of social engineering.
Social Engineering attacks are rising sharply in the UK and beyond, exploiting trust, curiosity, and social norms to infiltrate businesses of all sizes. But what exactly are these attacks, and how can your organisation stay protected?
In this article, we’ll dive into social engineering attacks, and how you can utilise social engineering penetration testing services to ensure that your workforce becomes your first line of defence against these escalating attacks.
What Is Social Engineering?
Social engineering is a threat vector that is becoming increasingly common in today’s digital landscape. It takes advantage of people’s natural inclination to help and support others.
Social engineering involves the manipulation of people into revealing confidential information, granting access to systems, or taking actions that benefit the attacker.
To combat these attacks, social engineering penetration testing has emerged as a vital cybersecurity service that helps businesses identify their vulnerabilities and assess their ability to withstand social engineering attacks.
The process involves simulating real life attacks by ethical hackers – also known as pen testers or social engineers – to determine the strength of a business’s security posture.
The goal of social engineering simulations is to identify vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit, how your workforce will respond, and provide recommendations on how to improve the organisation’s security.
By conducting regular social engineering testing, businesses can stay ahead of attackers and protect their sensitive data.
A social engineering penetration test will help to:
- Identify the publicly available information that an attacker could gather about your organisation
- Assess the susceptibility of your employees to social engineering attacks
- Evaluate the effectiveness of your information security policy and cyber security controls in detecting and preventing social engineering attacks
- Create a targeted security awareness training program based on the test results
What’s the Difference Between Social Engineering and a Pen Test?
Social Engineering is a subset of Penetration Testing (Pen Tests) and is used to test an organisation’s security posture by attempting to exploit human weaknesses rather than technical vulnerabilities.
Pen testing is a comprehensive security testing approach that involves identifying vulnerabilities in an organisation’s infrastructure, systems, and applications, such as web application penetration testing. It includes testing the security controls that protect the network, servers, and applications against attacks.
In contrast, Social Engineering tests focus on identifying how employees respond to specific situations, such as phishing emails or phone calls, to test the organisation’s security awareness and identify areas that require improvement. The primary goal of a social engineering test is to determine whether employees are following security policies and procedures and are aware of the risks associated with certain activities.
The Most Common Types of Social Engineering Attacks
Social engineering attacks have become a go-to strategy for cyber criminals due to their effectiveness. It’s estimated that 95% of successful attacks start with a phishing email.
Social engineering exploits human psychology by manipulating the target into doing something they shouldn’t, such as providing sensitive information or accessing restricted areas.
Organisations must educate their employees about social engineering to prevent falling victim to this attack vector.
Attackers use a wide range of techniques, but some of the most common types of social engineering attacks are phishing, pretexting, baiting, tailgating, and impersonation.
Social Engineering Attack Techniques
Phishing
Phishing is a widespread social engineering attack that involves sending emails or messages that appear to come from legitimate sources, such as banks or social media platforms.
The message usually contains a link that leads to a fake login page where the attacker steals the victim’s login credentials. More recently, cyber criminals have used QR code phishing tactics and AI-powered phishing campaigns to increase their success.
Security company RSA experienced a data breach after falling victim to a phishing attack. The attacker sent two phishing emails over two days with the subject line “Recruitment Plan” to small groups of RSA employees. The emails contained an Excel file attachment which, when opened, installed a backdoor that compromised RSA’s SecurID two-factor authentication (2FA) system.
Phishing is also very closely linked with Business Email Compromise (BEC).
Pretexting
Pretexting involves creating a false scenario to gain access to sensitive information or systems. An attacker may pretend to be a customer or vendor to ask an employee to provide login credentials or other sensitive information.
Cybercriminals were able to successfully gain access to the personal AOL email account of then-CIA director John Brennan by posing as a Verizon technician to ask for information about Brennan’s account. Once the hackers had obtained Brennan’s Verizon account details, they used the information to correctly answer security questions for Brennan’s email account.
Baiting
Baiting involves enticing a victim with a promised reward or incentive, that could link to a file download containing malware that allows the attacker to gain access to the victim’s computer or network.
Tailgating
Tailgating involves following someone into a restricted area without proper authorisation. The attacker may pretend to be an employee or a delivery person to gain access.
Impersonation
Impersonation is another social engineering attack where an attacker pretends to be someone else, such as a company representative or IT support.
More recently, deepfake has escalated what hackers can do with impersonation. In one recent attack, fraudsters used an AI deepfake to steal $25 million from UK engineering firm Arup.
Vishing
Vishing – short for voice phishing – is an attack that occurs over the phone, where an attacker calls and pretends to be someone else to trick the target into providing sensitive information.
Smishing
Smishing is a phishing attack that occurs via SMS or text messaging aiming to get the recipient to reveal personal or sensitive information. Deceptive text messages that may appear to be from legitimate sources prompt recipients to click on malicious links, download harmful software, or provide sensitive data.
USB drops
USB drops are a method that places malicious USBs in communal workspace areas. The USBs typically contain software that, when plugged in, install malware providing a backdoor into a system or transfer files with common file extensions.
Whaling
Whaling is a specific type of phishing attack. A whaling attack targets high profile employees, such as the chief financial officer or chief executive officer, to trick the targeted employee into disclosing sensitive information.
Honey trap
In this attack, the hacker interacts with a person online, faking an online relationship, and gathering sensitive information through that relationship.
Why Social Engineering Works
Cybercriminals prey on psychology. A phishing email offering a free voucher or pretending to be a colleague can bypass even the most secure infrastructure if your people aren’t trained to spot it.
Attackers often conduct deep reconnaissance, which involves scanning your website, LinkedIn profiles, and job boards, to make their approach seem legitimate. A cybercriminal may impersonate a trusted employee to gain physical access to a restricted area.
Once an attacker has identified a target, they will typically craft a message or scenario that appeals to the target’s emotions or desires directly.
What Is Social Engineering Penetration Testing?
Social Engineering Penetration Testing (SEPT) is a proactive way to assess your team’s resistance to social engineering threats. Ethical hackers simulate real world attacks such as phishing, vishing, or tailgating, to evaluate human vulnerabilities.
Social Engineering Testing helps you:
- Identify vulnerabilities in your organisation’s security protocols
- Raise awareness among employees about potential social engineering attacks
- Improve employee training and education programs
- Develop a risk management plan for social engineering threats
- Provide actionable recommendations to improve your security posture
- Meet compliance and regulatory requirements
- Mitigate potential financial losses and reputational damage
How Long Does a Social Engineering Test Take?
Social Engineering Testing can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on the scope and requirements of your business.
Key benefits of a Social Engineering Penetration Test
Social engineering attacks are using psychological manipulation to appeal to your workforce’s emotions or desires, and they can be highly effective if executed properly.
If you are a larger enterprise, for example, the attacker may gather intelligence on your organisational structure, internal operations, and industry or supply chain partners.
The attacker may also focus on the behaviours and patterns of your employees who have low level access, such as a security guard or receptionist, to study their behavior online and in person.
To prevent these social engineering attacks, organisations should engage with social engineering penetration testing service providers to stay one step ahead of hackers.
Social Engineering Penetration Testing Methodology
Social engineering penetration testing methodology is an essential aspect of ensuring that an organisation’s security is up to standard.
Techniques for Social Engineering Penetration Testing
There are 5 key steps involved in social engineering penetration testing methodology, with each step having its own importance within the overall process.
Planning & Scoping
During this stage, the scope of the test is defined, targets are identified, and an attack plan is developed.
The scoping stage is crucial because it identifies the purpose and goals of the test, including the types of attacks to be conducted.
Reconnaissance
During this stage, the team gathers information about the target organisation from public sources such as OSINT (Open Source Intelligence Gathering) data, looking at its structure, employees, and security policies.
This information is used to develop an attack plan that is tailored to the organisation’s unique characteristics. It’s essential to ensure that the information gathered during this stage is accurate and up to date to create an effective plan.
Attack Execution
During this stage, the testers carry out the planned social engineering attack, using various techniques such as phishing emails, pretexting, or tailgating.
The attack payload varies depending on the objective, which could be credential harvesting, malware delivery, or many others.
Documentation is essential during this stage, and all evidence should be collected, including recorded phone calls and emails from phishing attacks.
Data Collection
After executing the attack, the results are documented, such as the number of employees who fell for the attack and the type of data that was compromised.
This data is then analysed to determine the test’s effectiveness and identify any areas that need improvement.
Reporting
The report should include a summary of the scope of the test, the methodology used, and the risks identified so it can be presented to the organisation’s management and key stakeholders.
The report should also provide recommendations for remedial actions that can be taken to address the identified vulnerabilities.
Protecting your business against social engineering attacks
As long as email addresses are still in use, phishing emails will continue to be a common threat vector.
By following these best practices, your organisation can protect itself against social engineering attacks and reduce the risk of a potential breach.
Employee training
One of the best practices to mitigate the risk of social engineering attacks is regular employee training.
Providing social engineering awareness training and best practices can help prevent employees from falling for such attacks.
Security policies
It’s essential to define and enforce security policies to protect your business from potential breaches. Implementing controls like anti-phishing software, intrusion detection systems, and access control systems can further protect your organisation from social engineering attacks.
Social engineering penetration testing
Conducting regular social engineering security penetration testing is another way to identify vulnerabilities and test the effectiveness of your security controls.
These tests can be used to assess an organisation’s cyber security posture by identifying vulnerabilities in people, processes, and technology.
Technical controls
Implementing secure email and web gateways, keeping anti-malware and antivirus software up to date, and keeping software and firmware patched on endpoints are technical measures that can prevent social engineering attacks.
It’s essential to keep track of staff members that handle sensitive information and enable advanced authentication measures for them.
Implementing 2FA (two-factor authentication) to access key accounts and ensuring that employees do not reuse the same passwords for personal and work accounts are also critical strategies.
Spam filters
Implementing spam filters can help to blacklist suspicious Internet Protocol (IP) addresses or sender IDs, detect suspicious files or links, and analyse the content of emails to determine which may be potential phishing attacks.
Case Study: Social Engineering Security Services
Learn more about how Pure Technology Group proactively protected their business from phishing attacks with social engineering penetration testing, following a period of high growth and increased threat.
DigitalXRAID’s Social Engineering Penetration Testing Service
DigitalXRAID’s Social Engineering Penetration Testing Service is a comprehensive and bespoke approach to assessing security posture.
We have a dedicated team of social engineers who are constantly refining their craft and understanding the latest threat intelligence, so they can better protect you from attack.
What sets DigitalXRAID apart from other providers is our personalised approach. We will work as an extension of your own team from the very beginning, taking time to understand your business and specific threats.
Your social engineering penetration test will be modelled specifically to assess your people, processes, and technology most effectively. Let our experts provide you with guidance if you’re early in your cyber security journey.
Why Choose DigitalXRAID?
DigitalXRAID is CREST (Council of Registered Ethical Security Testers) accredited for multiple services. We also hold government CHECK accreditation for our penetration testing services.
Our team are highly certified, including CREST CCT and Offensive Security OSCP.
Work with DigitalXRAID to:
- Educate your employees about how social engineering attacks are carried out
- Implement and maintain appropriate security controls to mitigate threats
- Highlight and address any issues with operating procedures
- Evaluate how susceptible your employees are to social engineering attacks
- Develop a targeted staff awareness training programme
- Identify the amount of information available online about your organisation
- Determine the effectiveness of your information security policies and cybersecurity controls
Final Thoughts: Don’t Let Human Error Be Your Weakest Link
If you’ve invested in firewalls and threat detection, don’t forget about your team. They’re your first, and often last line of defence.
DigitalXRAID’s Social Engineering Security Services are tailored to your organisation and threat landscape. Speak to our team today and take the first step toward human error proof cyber security.
