Creativity
Creativity is awesome. Creativity is what makes people unique and different. But creativity isn’t always a good thing. Social engineering is the use of a little bad creativity to get people to divulge information, such as usernames and passwords.
The most common methods of social engineering involve the telephone and email. This helps protect the hacker’s true identity and makes it easier to trust them because you can’t see them in face to face. However, in some circumstances, hackers will social engineer situations by dressing as a uniformed employee (security guard, repairman, etc). This uniform generates a subconscious trust between you and the hacker.
It is very important to weed out these hacker’s and their social engineering in order to protect your data. These artists are counting on your natural human nature of trusting and willingness to help others. They often appear to be in a hurry in order to keep you focused on helping rather than asking questions.
Using these simple tips can be the difference between losing your valuable data to theft or protecting it:
- Seek assistance if in doubt
- Ask for and verify contact information
- Ask who authorized the request
- Verify the authorization
- Be very concerned about unescorted persons
- Ask simply why the information is needed
- Report any suspicious activity immediately
FREE Security Awareness Poster
This article is available as a security awareness poster! PCI, MasterCard, Visa and American Express require a security awareness program at most companies who take or process credit cards. Use this free poster in your company to spread the word!
Download Link: Creativity
Recent Comments