Social Engineering Processes and Methods
Types of Social Engineering
The first stage of organized attacks involves identifying the target and selecting the victim within that target. After the selection process, information gathered about the chosen victim is obtained, and in light of this information, the victim's weak points and mistakes are exploited to access the desired data. Generally, various techniques such as fake calls and information theft are used within social engineering attacks. At this point, you can examine the address to protect yourself from these attacks. The techniques used can be tailored specifically for the targeted victim or applied to institution employees.
Damages Resulting from Social Engineering
Considering the use of technologies today, we can examine social engineering types in two ways. These are:
- Human-Based Social Engineering: These are organized through direct communication or interaction with people. The goal here is to directly obtain the desired information. It can manifest in forms such as impersonation, help, and support services.
- Computer-Based Social Engineering: In addition to direct communication with people, technology-based techniques like computers can also be preferred. These techniques include actions like phishing emails. It also encompasses telephone fraud, or vishing, and malicious code and software such as fake websites.
In the social engineering process, various deceptive techniques such as promotional items, gifts, or interesting and free usage rights can be used in exchange for the information obtained from the selected victim. These methods, which exploit people's mistakes and vulnerabilities to access information that must be kept confidential, can appear in different forms in daily life. These attacks can create a hidden entry point for institutions, as well as cause great harm by accessing individuals' computers. Social engineering methods, which cause financial and moral damage, have harmed many national and global institutions.