Introduction
Despite the leaps and bounds we’ve made in cybersecurity, the human element remains the most vulnerable link in the security chain. 95% of cyberattacks begin because human error.
People have emotional weaknesses that threat actors like to exploit. These social engineering attacks have skyrocketed in the past several years. What do you know about this powerfully dangerous cyber-threat, and how can you stay safe?
How Social Engineering Works
The primary objective of these attacks is to gain your private credentials. Once attackers gain access to login information, they can infiltrate systems in under a minute depending on the complexity of the breach.
Social engineering surged by a staggering 442% in just the second half of 2024. Attackers hone in on and manipulate your ingrained sense of trust, fear, curiosity, and the desire to help. On top of that, they also bypass your technical defenses. Firewalls and antivirus software won’t stop you from thoughtlessly clicking a link or giving away your password over the phone.
The rapid exploitation leaves precious little time for detection, let alone an easy response.
Why Social Engineering Is So Effective
To make their cyberattacks more successful, social engineering threat actors design their messages to be more personalized and play on your individual biases.
What makes this wave of threats particularly dangerous is how quickly they evolve. As organizations invest in stronger technical defenses, attackers are shifting their focus to the one area that’s hardest to patch: People. What’s more, with the help of AI, social engineering attacks get more convincing every day.
Seriously. AI tools can gather, analyze, and synthesize massive amounts of personal data from social media, public records, and corporate websites. This enables attackers to craft messages that feel eerily personal, even referencing specific colleagues, recent events, or internal company jargon. What once took hours of manual research can now be done in seconds with smart machines.
If you get an email that mentions meeting you at the community picnic last weekend, you’re much more likely to engage with the so-called “neighbor.”
How Can You Protect Yourself from Social Engineering?
Social engineering manipulates your feelings so that you provide sensitive information that you normally wouldn’t give out. If someone pressures you, that’s the biggest red flag that means you should step back and reassess the situation at hand.
Your annual Security Awareness Training is the foundation of your daily cyber hygiene. Pay attention to these provided training courses so that you have the most up-to-date information about staying safe from threat actors.
Meanwhile, cybersecurity threats change significantly from one year to the next. Just because threat actors prefer ransomware through text in January, they might invent a new type of phishing by December. By keeping updated with regular video refreshers and news headlines, you can keep cyber-hygiene top-of-mind all year round.
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