{"id":77024,"date":"2022-03-22T11:48:22","date_gmt":"2022-03-22T11:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deveccouncil.kinsta.cloud\/?p=77024"},"modified":"2026-04-15T06:15:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T06:15:33","slug":"understanding-preventing-social-engineering-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eccouncil.org\/cybersecurity-exchange\/ethical-hacking\/understanding-preventing-social-engineering-attacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding and Preventing Social Engineering Attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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According to PurpleSec (2021), 98% of cyberattacks rely on social engineering. The same report indicates that new employees are the most susceptible: 60% of IT professionals cited recent hires as at high risk of falling for social engineering tactics.<\/p>\n

Social engineering attacks use deception, coercion, or other interpersonal methods to achieve an illegitimate or fraudulent outcome. As Jenny Radcliffe, founder and director of social engineering cybersecurity firm Human-Centered Security, says: \u201cCriminals use the fear, the uncertainty, and the doubt\u2014or FUD, as we call it in the business\u2014to create this atmosphere of uncertainty in people\u2019s heads\u201d (Tanium, 2020, para. 11).<\/p>\n

In this article, we\u2019ll cover the top social engineering attack methods and explain how to defend against them.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Social Engineering Attack Patterns<\/h2>\n\n

Social engineering attacks all follow a broadly similar pattern. First, the hacker identifies a target and determines their approach. They then engage the target and build trust. Next, they launch the attack. Finally, once the hacker has what they want, they remove the traces of their attack.<\/p>\n\n

CNN ran an experiment to prove how easy it is to pull off these types of attacks (O\u2019Sullivan, 2019). In the experiment, a hacker successfully obtained a CNN tech reporter\u2019s home address and cell phone number by calling a furniture store where the reporter had recently purchased an item. She got the name of the store from a tweet where the reporter had shared information about his latest purchase.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Spear Phishing<\/h2>

Between March 1 and March 23, 2020, Barracuda Sentinel researchers identified 467,825 spear-phishing email attacks (\u201cCoronavirus-related spear phishing,\u201d 2020). Spear phishing targets specific individuals with malicious attacks that exploit the target\u2019s trust to get them to divulge sensitive information.<\/p>

A spear-phishing attack starts with investigation. The goal is to gather enough information about the target to fool them into believing the attacker is a trusted person or entity. Attackers often pose as a friend, coworker, or supervisor.<\/p>

In\u00a0spear-phishing attacks<\/a>, hackers send emails that appear to come from a trustworthy source, such as a bank or favorite retailer. The email encourages the recipient to follow a link that enables the hacker to obtain sensitive information, like usernames, passwords, and credit card numbers.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Why Spear Phishing Works<\/h2>\n\n

Spear phishing uses the element of trust. People let their guard down when they trust someone. Cybercriminals use this technique because it is an easy way to convince a target to carry out a desired action.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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How To Avoid This Type of Social Engineering Attack<\/h2>\n\n

One of the easiest ways to stop phishing attacks, including spear phishing, is to carefully check the sender\u2019s email address. Phishing emails that might at first appear to come from a well-known business often have slight spelling variations that are difficult to detect without paying close attention.<\/p>\n\n

It\u2019s also a good idea to check the subject line of the email. Phishing emails often attempt to create a sense of fear or urgency to get the recipient\u2019s attention. Words such as \u201cImportant,\u201d \u201cUrgent,\u201d or \u201cAccount Past Due\u201d are all red flags.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Baiting<\/h2>\n\n

Baiting is a type of social engineering attack in which the cybercriminal lures the target by using a reward as bait. The goal is to gain confidential information or access to a company\u2019s internal network by offering the target something they can\u2019t refuse\u2014for example, a free download or participation in a contest to win money.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Why Baiting Works<\/h2>\n\n

Humans are curious by nature. Cybercriminals know this and construct offers that seem too good to be true. If the offer is compelling enough, the target is more likely to divulge sensitive information.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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How To Avoid This Type of Social Engineering Attack<\/h2>\n\n

Be wary of emails, links, posts, and advertisements. If something looks suspicious, don\u2019t click on it. Likewise, don\u2019t respond to emails that request sensitive information to be provided via email, and before sending personal information online, check the URL. Cybercriminals are good at making sites appear legitimate, so look for slight misspellings or a different domain, such as .net instead of .com.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Quid Pro Quo<\/h2>\n\n

In a quid pro quo attack, also known as \u201cgift exchange,\u201d the attacker tries to get a favor from the target in return for something desirable. Similar to baiting, a quid pro quo attack involves a cybercriminal offering to do something that benefits the target but requires the target to perform an action in exchange.<\/p>\n\n

For example, the attacker may call several extensions at a company and pretend to be calling back about a technical support issue. When they identify someone with an existing support issue, they pretend to help the target. However, they instruct the target to perform actions that (unbeknownst to them) will compromise their machine.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Why Quid Pro Quo Attacks Work<\/h2>\n\n

People fall for quid pro quo attacks because they believe the task they\u2019re being asked to perform is small and insignificant. These tasks could range from giving out their email address to accepting software upgrades. Attackers are more successful in getting the information or access they want if they make requests that don\u2019t require a significant commitment from the target.<\/p>\n\n

Quid Pro Quo Attack Prevention<\/h2>\n\n

As a rule, don’t provide sensitive information unless you initiated the exchange. Verify the company by calling back on a publicly posted phone number. If something seems suspicious, hang up the phone.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Learn How to Prevent Social Engineering Attacks with EC-Council<\/h2>

EC-Council trains candidates on the latest tools and methods in the field of cybersecurity, including social engineering, penetration testing<\/a>, ethical hacking<\/a>, and prevention tactics.<\/p>

If you\u2019re interested in detecting and preventing social engineering attacks, consider becoming an ethical hacker by enrolling in EC-Council\u2019s Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)<\/a> certification program. In the CEH course, you\u2019ll learn how to lawfully hack an organization\u2019s systems using the latest hacking tools, techniques, and methodologies. Get certified<\/a> with EC-Council today!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tReferences<\/strong>\n\n

Coronavirus-related spear phishing attacks see 667% increase in March 2020. (2020, April 16). Security Magazine.\nhttps:\/\/www.securitymagazine.com\/articles\/92157-coronavirus-related-spear-phishing-attacks-see-667-increase-in-march-2020<\/em><\/p>\n\n

O\u2019Sullivan, D. (2019, October 18). We asked a hacker to try and steal a CNN tech reporter’s data. Here’s what happened. CNN.\nhttps:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/10\/18\/tech\/reporter-hack\/index.html<\/em><\/p>\n\n

PurpleSec. (2021). 2021 cyber security statistics: The ultimate list of stats, data & trends.\nhttps:\/\/purplesec.us\/resources\/cyber-security-statistics\/<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Tanium. (2020, October 19). Your people are being hacked: How to defend against social engineering during WFH. CIO. https:\/\/www.cio.com\/article\/190874\/your-people-are-being-hacked-how-to-defend-against-social-engineering-during-wfh.html<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to PurpleSec (2021), 98% of cyberattacks rely on social engineering. The same report indicates that new employees are the most susceptible: 60% of IT professionals cited recent hires as at high risk of falling for social engineering tactics. Social engineering attacks use deception, coercion, or other interpersonal methods to achieve an illegitimate or fraudulent…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":80832,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12083],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-77024","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ethical-hacking"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPreventing Social Engineering Attacks: Complete Guide | EC-Council<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is social engineering attack definition, social engineering attack example, preventing social engineering attacks, and social engineering attacks rely on which of the following social engineering techniques.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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