What is Social Engineering? We’ve all hear a lot about it lately, but do we actually know how to defend ourselves from becoming a target of new techniques used by hackers during Covid?
Social Engineering is new technique used by hacker’s human behaviour with the purpose of gaining information, access, or any valuables. Often called “human hacks”, as hackers are targeting vulnerable people and lure them using psychological manipulation, to hand over information they need to perform attack. Attack can happen online or in person, and via any other interaction.
Recently we all notice , there has been an increase in social engineering attempts against enterprises and SMEs which have become more sophisticated. As many people working from home during Covid and not knowing their co-workers it become even easier for hackers to target employees. In big organisations that can be a major issue, for example an employee’s receiving a call from a hacker posing a technical support and tricking the person into reviling credentials. How could you defeat them? There are couple simple things we could do to minimize the potential thread:
- Slow down – the most important is to take a step back and think, does the person sound legit or wee bit fishy, asking to many questions.
- Learn to recognise fake email address: Matt@rbs.co.uk or Matt@rbanks.co.uk
- Do not click on any links that you may think are not legit (contact your IT department first)
- Ensure your antivirus and firewall are always kept up-to-date.
- Do not attach any unknown peripherals to your computer.
- You should not under any circumstances share your credentials with anyone (your IT department should be able to access your PC from admin level)
So, how can Ascent Cyber help? Our training packages will instil good cyber habits in your staff, while our bespoke Cyber Security Consultation will help you identify the right security solutions for your business. Ensure your antivirus and firewall are always kept up-to-date contact Ascent Cyber today.