People

Created by

Olu

Cards (6)

Why do security threats arise because of people
A lot of the time, security threats arise because organisations fail to properly secure their network - they might forget to encrypt their data or use a bad code
Other instances are a result of hackers manipulating employees
People are often the weak point in secure systems
What is social engineering?
Social engineering is a way of gaining sensitive information or illegal access to networks by influencing people , usually the employees of large companies
Using a telephone for social engineering
A common form of social engineering occurs over the telephone
Someone rings up an employee of a company and pretends to be a network administrator or somebody else within the organisation
The social engineer gains the employees trust and persuades them disclose confidential information- this might be personal (e.g. their login details) or sensitive company data
Phishing
Another type of social engineering is phishing
Phishing is when criminals send emails or texts to people, claiming to be from a well known business (e.g. a bank or online retailer)
The email often contains links to spoof versions (humorous imitation) of the company’s website
They then request that the user update their personal information (e.g. password or bank account details)
When the user inputs this data into the website they hand it all over to the criminals who can then access their genuine account
Why phishing emails are sent to many people
Phishing emails are often sent to thousands of people, in the hope that someone will read the email and believe its content is legitimate
Stopping Phishing / Ways to prevent yourself being a victim to Phishing
Many email programs, browsers and firewalls have anti phishing features that will reduce the number of phishing emails received
There are often giveaways that you can spot e.g. poor grammar
Emails asking users to follow links or update personal details should always be treated with caution