...Security Recommendations To Prevent Social Engineering Attacks A social engineering attack is a non technical attack that attacks the mindset of the victim. An intruder prefers this attack, because the human mindset has more weaknesses than many systems do. There are several implementations that can be used to deter social engineering attacks. The following are list of security recommendations to thwart social engineering attacks that must be used by all company employees: · Do not click on any links in an e-mail instead scan the link with a virus scanner and type the link in the browser instead of clicking on the link. · Do not open any e-mail attachments without first during a virus scan on the e-mail or e-mail attachments can be blocked. · Do not talk about company business in front of anyone that is not a part of the company this includes family or friends. · Do not hold the door open to let anyone in the building instead have them go to the front desk to present their credentials. · Make sure that all paper company documents are burned in an incinerator. · Install mantraps where access cards must be used to enter in secure or employee only areas. · To obtain lost or forgotten passwords the user must come to the help desk with the proper identification and answer 2 security questions and the temporary password must be changed as soon as the account is accessed. · Internal e-mail addresses should only be given to employees with proper identification that can...
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...IT 286 Week 8 Assignment Social Engineering (Latest) Get Tutorial by Clicking on the link below or Copy Paste Link in Your Browser https://hwguiders.com/downloads/286-week-8-assignment-social-engineering-latest/ For More Courses and Exams use this form ( http://hwguiders.com/contact-us/ ) Feel Free to Search your Class through Our Product Categories or From Our Search Bar (http://hwguiders.com/ ) Social Engineering Article Review Malware and phishing are two kinds of computer security issues, which are a growing issue in the world of computer systems these days. With information systems growing faster year-by-year the attacks and those who make them seem to be keeping pace and sometimes even being ahead of the latest software to help protect from these attacks. ASSIGNMENT IS FREE IT 286 Week 8 Assignment Social Engineering (Latest) Get Tutorial by Clicking on the link below or Copy Paste Link in Your Browser https://hwguiders.com/downloads/286-week-8-assignment-social-engineering-latest/ For More Courses and Exams use this form ( http://hwguiders.com/contact-us/ ) Feel Free to Search your Class through Our Product Categories or From Our Search Bar (http://hwguiders.com/ ) Social Engineering Article Review Malware and phishing are two kinds of computer security issues, which are a growing issue in the world of computer systems these days. With information systems growing faster year-by-year the attacks and those who make them seem to...
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...Recommendations for Security Measures SEC440 Abstract A social engineering attack is a threat that can be both the most effective attack, as well as the most devastating. This paper will detail some of the strategies of identifying and circumventing a social engineering attempt on an organization. I will give real world examples of social engineering attacks and how the attack was able to succeed in easily infiltrating an organization’s IT systems. . Recommendations for Security Measures Dictionary.com defines Social Engineering as “the application of the findings of social science to the solution of actual social problems.” (Dictionary.com, 2011). However in the Information Security world we use this word in a more specific sense. Christopher Hadnagy wrote a great book on this subject called “Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking” He defines on his website that Social Engineering is “the act of manipulating a person to accomplish goals that may or may not be in the ‘target’s’ best interest. This may include obtaining information, gaining access, or getting the target to take certain action.” (Hadnagy, 2011). This is the definition of Social Engineering I will be using throughout this paper, and this is perhaps the most dangerous form of attack available to hackers. A Social Engineering attack can be initiated from many different vectors. A phone call could be made by an attacker to extract data. email phishing attacks can be composed to look like a...
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...SOCIAL ENGINEERING INTRODUCTION Social Engineering is using non-technical means to gain unauthorized access to information or system. Normally a hackers would use exploit a systems vulnerabilities and run scripts to gain access. When hackers deploy social engineering they exploit human nature. Social Engineering is represented by building trust relationships with people who work in the inside of the organization to gain access or who are privilege to sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and personal identification codes which are needed to gain access to information, networks and equipment. An attacker may appear to be trustworthy and authorized, possibly claiming to be a new employee, repair person, researcher and even offering credentials to support that identity. If an attacker is not able to gather enough information from one source, he or she may contact another source within the same organization and rely on the information from the first source to add to his or her credibility. In the past companies would assume if they setup authentication processes, firewalls, virtual private networks, and network-monitoring the software their network would be safe. Social Engineering bypasses the technical security measures and targets the human element in the organization. SOCIAL ENGINEERING ATTACK Social engineering attacks are personal. Hackers understand that employees are often the weakest link in a security system...
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...VUT2- Vulnerability Assessment Task 1 2012 VUT2- Vulnerability Assessment Task 1 2012 Introduction Social Engineering is the means of acquiring information by deceiving and tricking the human element of an information system. Hackers know that people are the weak link in any Information System. Attackers trick users into revealing valuable information and coerce users into performing tasks that may cause harm to their organization. The social engineering attack can be broken down into two logical stages; the physical settings and psychological methods stages. Physical settings stage would gather information by accessing the work place using impersonation, telephone calls, online chat, or email contact. Attackers then use this information against the organization during the psychological methods stage. (Jones, 2003). In this scenario a supervisor that handles customer complaints received an email that one of the product listings on the organization’s website was incorrect. The link provided in the email redirected the user to a page containing a script, that once run, compromised the supervisor’s computer by downloading and installing a Trojan horse and opening a remote access session for the attacker which allowed him to access and downloaded confidential files from the system. During the first stage, the attacker impersonated a customer from account information perhaps discovered during a reconnaissance attack in the form of dumpster diving in the organization’s...
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...------------------------------------------------- Techniques and terms[edit] All social engineering techniques are based on specific attributes of human decision-making known as cognitive biases.[3] These biases, sometimes called "bugs in the human hardware," are exploited in various combinations to create attack techniques, some of which are listed here: Pretexting[edit] Pretexting (adj. pretextual), also known in the UK as blagging or bohoing, is the act of creating and using an invented scenario (the pretext) to engage a targeted victim in a manner that increases the chance the victim will divulge information or perform actions that would be unlikely in ordinary circumstances.[4] An elaborate lie, it most often involves some prior research or setup and the use of this information for impersonation (e.g., date of birth, Social Security number, last bill amount) to establish legitimacy in the mind of the target.[5] This technique can be used to fool a business into disclosing customer information as well as by private investigators to obtain telephone records, utility records, banking records and other information directly from company service representatives. The information can then be used to establish even greater legitimacy under tougher questioning with a manager, e.g., to make account changes, get specific balances, etc. Pretexting can also be used to impersonate co-workers, police, bank, tax authorities, clergy, insurance investigators — or any other individual...
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...our information and our privacy. Computers around the world are connected via the internet and while this connection allows for easy access to information and communication, it also opens the user up to a new form of crime, social engineering. In my ????? class, Professor ???? talked about one particular example of social engineering dating back to ancient times, the Trojan Horse. It is considered one the most well-known examples of social engineering in history; a hollow statue built by the Greeks to allow them access to the city of Troy. This seemingly harmless wood statue was not apparent to be a threat by the Trojans and unfortunately resulted in the fall of the city of Troy to the Greeks. Social engineering works in somewhat the same way. In modern times it is a way for criminals to access your computer, office or confidential information for illegal purposes. In this paper, I will discuss 3 of the most common types of social engineering attacks; phishing, snooping and dumpster diving. Issues Analysis Firs I want to talk about one of the most common types of social engineering, phishing. Phishing is a computer criminal activity that uses a special engineering as a disguise on a website in order to acquire credit card information, social security, and other important information about the user. The first use of phishing started...
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...“You could spend a fortune purchasing technology and services...and your network infrastructure could still remain vulnerable to old-fashioned manipulation.” Kevin Mitnick [4] Social engineering is one of the ways hackers get an access to sensitive information, such as passwords, access codes, credit card numbers, etc. Instead of breaking into a computer system, the persuasive hackers trick people into giving up the information on their own. [1] According to the Security and Risk website, social engineering attacks are very costly for businesses. For example, once hackers get the needed log in information, they can then spy on an organization’s activity and transactions. Annually, an organization can lose thousands of dollars on such attacks. New employees are the primary victims that become the prey of hackers via phishing emails and social networking sites. [2] The most common method of social engineering attacks is phishing or spam scams. The victim receives an urgent email where he or she asked to follow a link to verify the account number or any other “important” data. Hackers use well known organizations and banks’ logos and these kinds of emails are very convincing. There are different variations to this method, though. Instead of phony emails, a victim can receive a phony call from an “authority” or an IT specialist that tries to get the sensitive information from a victim. Also, there are different variations to it when hackers pretend to be some...
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...Social Engineering IFSM201 May 3, 2014 According to Tipton (2012) social engineering is a method used to influence a person into sharing information or acting in a manner that would result in unauthorized access to information system, network or data. Social engineering is a form of coning or deceiving someone. (Tipton, 2012, p. 1480) . Protecting organizations information is essential for any organization so they are able to stay in business. Impact by information breach can devastate and organization or individual. With all the looming cyber attacks, financial damage done by the attacks could bring the organization down. Organization would lose their customers, because many people would not want to put their information at risk once a security has been breached. Breaching the information happens more often through human error than computer system; once the information is gained from an employee the gate is wide open for the hackers. According to Hadnagy (2010) FBI has reported that 77% of attacks happened because of disgruntled employees. (Hadnagy, 2010, p. 4). Social engineering is widely used by hackers, instead of attempting to break into a system, hackers would try to gain information directly from an employee of an organization...
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...A. Memo of Case Social engineering is a method of gaining access to information by deception performed against human capital. System penetrators and ‘crackers’ know that people, and their desire to be helpful, or their ability to emote, are the weakest links in any program designed to protect information systems. Attackers can trick or persuade their way into systems in any number of ways via remote and physical means, and convince users to reveal information of interest that can cause harm to an organization. A typical social engineering attack can be segmented into physical and psychological stages. The physical segment of the social engineering operation could include phone calls, or returned phone calls from employees back to the attacker (an example of reverse social engineering) that volunteer information, ‘dumpster diving’ for company specific information that can be used to simulate a rapport or relationship with the company if questioned by an employee or security, emails with surreptitious links requesting unique information such as PIN’s or user names, or physical proximity and entry by impersonating an authorized person. The psychological stage of a social engineering attack takes place after the physical foot printing of the organization by using the bona fides that were learned while gathering physical intelligence to manufacture relationships with persons or the company, or by asserting false authority by impersonating persons or departments within the company...
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...UVT2-RTFT Task 1 Competency 427.2.4: Advanced Social Engineering William J. Lawson MS Information Security & Assurance - 5/1/13 Student ID:000311942 My Mentor: Mary Gordon c: 317-448-3045 Indianapolis, IN - Eastern Time wlawson@my.wgu.edu[->0] A. Create a memo discussing how you believe the intruder gained access to the company's network using social engineering. Incident Memo to Management Recently The Company was a victim of a Social Engineering (SE) attack, perpetrated by an unknown entity. Social Engineering is a method used by confidence men (con-men) to acquire information through human interaction that will be used to support a cyber attack. It often involves some form of trickery. In this case a supervisor assigned to handle customer complaints received an email from a suspected customer claiming that one of the products listed on the website was incorrect. The email also included a URL to the web page in question. I suspect that the attacker acquired the Supervisor's email address by first contacting the customer support desk and posing as disgruntled customer. Once the customer (attacker) stated his/her complaint to the employee and the employee responded the customer pretended that he was not satisfied and stated to the employee that his complaint was not completely satisfied. He then asked the employee for the supervisor's name, and contact information. In order to satisfy the customer the employee provides the...
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...their IT system this would be essentially important. The amount of knowledge that would be gained from the courses, they can facilitate the creation of a better security system. 2) What are the two primary lines of security defense and how can organizational employees use the information taught by the Intense School when drafting an information security plan? The two primary lines of security defense are through people first and technology second. The courses will enlighten the employees how easy it is for hackers to deploy social engineering to gain private information from them. Employees can use the information taught at the school to draft an information security plan that details how an organization will implement the information security policies. The school will most likely teach many of the tricks to social engineering and hacking, which the employees can use to create the detailed information security policies. 3) Determine the differences between the two primary courses offered at the Intense School, “Professional Hacking Boot Camp” and “Social Engineering in Two Days.” Which course is more important for organizational employees to attend? The two main differences is that one covers the Technology of the security defense line and the other covers issues with the People. The course Social Engineering in Two Days is more important for organizational employees to attend because it would be easiest for hackers to gain access through employees giving away passwords...
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...inactive routes into the property. b. Establish Contractor routines (Cleaners, Builders, Electricians, Technician etc) c. Establish Courier routines d. Establish employee routines, (Social Engineering) e. Obtain ID card/s, (Theft or Falsify) 2. Gain entry to the building. (Pretext, Deceit, Employment) a. Establish Office layout b. Establish Sensitive offices (Including ComCen and IT rooms) c. Establish Evacuation routines 3. Acquisition of Intelligence. a. Obtain Hard & Soft Copy Information b. Obtain Top Managerial Personal Information, (Addresses etc) c. (Optional deployment of Ethical Hacking) 4. Disruption/Sabotage a. Insertion of dummy explosive/incendiary devices (Packages, Letter Bombs etc). b. Abduction plan 5. Report The time frame is variable dependent on current security protocols and staff awareness. Client Network Penetration Testing Proposal Document Reference xxx-xxxx-xx Contents 1 Background 3 2 Scope 4 2.1 Types of Attack 4 2.2 Report 5 2.2.1 Executive Summary 5 2.2.2 Technical Report 5 2.2.3 Recommendations 5 2.2.4 Security Policy 5 3 Phase 1 – Internal 6 3.1 Scope 6 3.2 Deliverable 6 4 Phase 2 – Internet 7 4.1 Scope 7 4.2 Deliverable 7 5 Phase 3 – WarDial 8 5.1 Scope 8 5.2 Deliverable 8 6 Phase 4...
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...Social Engineering Attacks and Counter intelligence Brian Nance CIS 502 Theories of Security Management Strayer University Prof. (Dr.) Gideon Nwatu May, 5, 2013 Describe what social engineering and counterintelligence are and their potential implications to our national security in regard to the leaked Afghan War Diary and the Iraq War Logs “Social engineering is a term that describes a non-technical kind of intrusion that relies heavily on human interaction and often involves tricking other people to break normal security procedures”. (Rouse, 2006) Social engineering is a con game in where a person breaks into a computer network in the efforts to gain the confidence of an authorized user and to get them to reveal information that will compromise their network security. Social engineering relies on the weakest link, which are human beings. Most social engineering attacks happen when attackers send urgent emails or correspondence to an unsuspecting authorized user of an urgent problem that requires immediate network access. According to (Rouse, 2006) these types of social engineering tactics appeal to vanity, a since of authority, or greed. Attackers rely on the fact that people are not aware of the value of the information they possess and are careless about protecting it. Security experts believe people are more dependent on information than ever and social engineering will remain the greatest threat to any security system...
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...Supporting Activities Adam Kacho BSA 310 Business Systems October 23, 2012 Carlos Perales, MSCIS Discussion Question 1 • Discuss the role that preparing employees to recognize and respond to social engineering techniques should play in the organization’s overall information security program. Preparing employees to recognize and respond to social engineering techniques requires training, awareness, and accountability. By reviewing and following the employees organizational security policies through training, they can determine the appropriate response to whether or not they should provide sensitive information requested from them through social engineering. Guidelines are typically in place for employees to follow and generally include: • “Be cautious when someone requests sensitive information from you; verify the requester's identity and ensure that the requester is entitled to the information before giving it out. • Consider asking him why he wants the information, and then ask an authorized colleague whether or not the requester is actually entitled to the information. • Request proof of identity, whether on the phone or in person. If identification is provided or otherwise visible, verify its validity before providing the requested information. Don't be afraid to place the caller on hold, or get a number and call him or her back, so that you can verify the requester's identity and the validity of the request...
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