Understanding Social Engineering

Cybersecurity is a major and as parents, we are concerned about our children’s exposure to the technology. When we hear about cyber attacks in the news and we become concerned about how it affects our children. Therefore, We need to guide our children in the right direction by providing them an awareness of the tactics that go behind major Cyber attacks and how to protect themselves from it.

Gone are the days when people used to break into buildings, offices, and homes to steal money and valuables.

Those kinds of burglars are still there, but now criminals are using the technology to execute a theft or burglary. It is not just children who are at risk; as parents, we too are on the threshold of manipulated by someone who wants or plans to steal our personal information. In this regard, Social Engineering is the most effective approach, where a hacker tries to gain the trust of the victim and then pull them into their trap.

What is social engineering?

Social Engineers don’t just use the technology to extract your information but they also do it in ways that do not cause any suspicion. These are people who monitor us without our knowledge and try to befriend us by helping us in time of need. Th

ey appear courteous in their communication without making us suspicious, where some social engineers try to get closer to the victim and share their personal information and expecting them to provide the same in return. They may ask for the email address and by sending regular mails, they try to establish a friendship.

Moreover, they might be following us and may be lurking behind when we are drawing cash from ATMs. If we are not mindful of the surroundings, we may compromise the security of our information. We sometimes may carry too much information in our wallets or purse and in case of theft, all our information will be at someone else’s disposal. Though you might block your bank cards if they get stolen, they still have access to your driving license through which other information may be connected.

Victims of social engineering

Social Engineering attacks were usually carried out on business organizations to steal their confidential information, classified documents, etc. They used different techniques to hack into an organization’s system and premises.

Now organizations have tightened their security and have implemented several policy controls for staff and visitors, so the focus of social engineers has switched to the normal person, as they are not aware of these practices and social engineers can easily carry out their schemes.

Therefore, we need to protect our personal information and check with whom we are sharing this information. Moreover, we have to teach our children and other family members to be very cautious so they could protect their personal information, and we need to keep ourselves updated about the current social engineering risks and tactics to ensure the safety of our family.