Risks and Mitigation of Social Engineering Attacks
As active members of a community, we engage with others in different scenarios and for various purposes. However, not every social interaction has positive intentions or leads to beneficial outcomes. Sometimes, our friendliness, need for reciprocity, loyalty, curiosity, or trusting nature can be easily exploited. Unfortunately, it is usually too late before most people realize they were manipulated during these interactions.
This type of negative social exchange is what we call social engineering in cybersecurity.
Social Engineering in Cybersecurity
In more specific terms, social engineering attacks are coordinated attempts to get victims to perform actions harmful to themselves or the organization they represent. In most cases, these attacks are directed at financial gain, whether by asking for money directly (theft or ransomware) or indirectly to gain access to your data and sell it to other criminals.
While social engineering attacks may look similar because they overlap in many areas, they also have distinctive features that make them unique and identifiable in real life.
- Phishing: These attacks usually involve messages disguised as communication from reputable sources. Phishing messages are usually sent out to multiple people at once with the element of urgency. It may be to quickly claim a limited-time offer or to ask them to click a link to change their password because of a recent “data breach.”
- Baiting: Baiting attacks entice prospective victims with the promise of rewards or treats (bait), for example, free music, software, games, celebrity leaks, etc.
Bait attacks exploit human vulnerabilities, and that’s what makes them even more dangerous. Whether it is exploiting curiosity, greed, or lack of attention to detail, baits are effective in introducing malware, spyware, or ransomware into your business’s network. - Pretexting: Pretexting is an elaborate form of social engineering where the attacker creates a false scenario (the pretext) that becomes the basis of the attack.
Social engineering attacks may also occur as modifications or combinations of the major ones listed above, including business email compromise, tailgating, spear vishing, spear phishing, dumpster diving, quid pro quo, impersonation, etc.
Additionally, there are numerous ways to carry out these attacks, including over the phone, in person, via emails, clone websites, letters, carefully placed drives, etc.
Protecting Your Business from Social Engineering Attacks
Businesses in the United States have been the favorite targets of social engineering attacks for many years, with different sources reporting between 60% and 85% attack rates.
The financial impact of these attacks can be debilitating for businesses. The FBI’s latest cyber security review reports that business email compromises alone have an average financial impact of $135,000. Meanwhile, the average cost of data breaches has climbed steadily, reaching $9.36 million per incident in February 2024.
However, the risks of social engineering attacks go beyond financial setbacks. Businesses may also have to deal with reputational damage, operation downtime, data loss, and even legal problems after successful hacks and data breaches.
The risks of social engineering attacks are higher today than ever before, especially with the advent of AI. Voice replication software, deepfake videos, and LLMs have made it easier for cybercriminals to present their messages in formats that can mislead even the most paranoid internet users.
These are just some of the reasons identifying the risks and mitigation of social engineering attacks have become critical to running a successful business in 2024.
Employee Education and Awareness Training
Most cyberattacks start in social engineering scenarios, and for good reason. It is easier to mislead someone than to hack through the average IT environment that most businesses can afford. A poorly trained workforce only makes their job easier.
The most effective way to protect your business’ finances and data from the threat of exploits is to have employees who are trained to recognize these social engineering tactics.
For example, when you notice someone expressing urgency over email, you shouldn’t allow that pressure to lead you to abandon standard operating procedures. Instead, it should trigger you to want to double-check, whether by texting or calling them on another platform to confirm they are indeed on the other side of the message.
Technical Support from Expert IT Services
Technical support from your IT service provider goes hand-in-hand with your employee education and awareness training. In many cases, your cybersecurity standard and policy are based on the recommendation of your IT service provider, which is developed based on a comprehensive IT security review of your business.
As a business owner, you also have certain obligations in terms of the cybersecurity infrastructure you install for your business. Whether it is an in-house team, outside help, or a hybrid model, you’re responsible for equipping them with everything they need to be successful at their jobs, which is to secure your business’ network and online assets.
They are responsible for ensuring your malware detection software, antivirus, multi-factor authenticator, phishing detectors, and email filters are up to date. Their job also includes performing regular training and hosting refresher courses based on the latest trends identified via their cyber security reviews.
Data backups and recovery points are also important to prevent a total breakdown in the event of a successful breach. Endpoint security and periodic security sweeps are also help monitor the devices that are connected to your network, ensuring that every connection is secure and authorized.
The Future of Social Engineering Attack Risk Mitigation
As we discussed, the identification of risks and mitigation of social engineering attacks is a collaboration between the humans you employ and the technology you deploy for your business.
Being able to identify and break the flow of cybercriminals is critical to stopping social engineering attacks. However, people also need technical support to handle the variety and ingenuity of some of these attacks.
Alexonet provides the solutions your business needs to navigate the cybersecurity maze that has become exponentially more challenging due to the advancements and accessibility of AI technology.