social engineering

Best Practices for Countering Social Engineering Attacks

Author(s):

Emmanuel Akin-Ademola, Technical Writer,

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social engineering

Ninety-eight percent of all cyber-attacks are variations of social engineering. This implies that businesses must constantly invest in cutting-edge approaches for their cybersecurity as cybercriminals invent new ways of exploiting organizations’ vulnerabilities. Unlike other forms of cyber-attacks, social engineering focuses on humans — this brings serious problems because humans are the weakest link in the security chain. … Read more

Deepfake Technology: Implications for the Future

Author(s):

Caleb Townsend, Staff Writer, United States Cybersecurity Magazine

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It has been over a year since Jordan Peele made a video warning us of the impending spike in deepfake technology. In the video, Peele uses ML technology and his legendary Obama imitation to effectively ventriloquize Obama. He effectively makes it appear as if Obama is saying outlandish statements. Since the video’s release, we have … Read more

Catfishing: Not Just About Money

Author(s):

Caleb Townsend, Staff Writer, United States Cybersecurity Magazine

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Catfishing, catfish

We live in a time where it is easier than ever to deceive people. For example, the internet now enables us to speak anonymously through message boards, comment sections, and even online games. Additionally, the internet can help you pretend to be a different person. Catfishing is the act of pretending to be someone else … Read more

ElsaGate: The Problem With Algorithms

Author(s):

Caleb Townsend, Staff Writer, United States Cybersecurity Magazine

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Elsagate concept, kids on IPads looking shocked and confused

Social Engineering can take many forms. Sometimes it’s a phone call attempting to extrapolate your mother’s maiden name. Other times it is an email attempting to gain rapport and get you to click on a sketchy link.  However, sometimes you get something much more bizarre. Something like Elsagate. In 2017, many news sources started reporting … Read more

Pretexting: The Art of Impersonation

Author(s):

Patrick Putman, ,

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Pretexting, hacker working on business interface, sinister, animated

What is Pretexting Pretexting is a social engineering tactic that uses deception and false motives. Simply put, pretexting crafts fictional situations to obtain personal, sensitive, or privileged information. Pretexting often involves researching the target prior to the attack. The data collected is then used to manipulate and deceive the victim. The main goal of the … Read more