Social engineering, in the context of security, is understood to mean the art of
manipulating people into performing actions or divulging confidential information.
[1] This is a type of
confidence trick for the purpose of information gathering, fraud, or computer system access. It differs from traditional cons in that often the
attack is often a mere step in a more complex fraud.
"Social engineering" as an act of psychological manipulation had
previously been associated with the social sciences, but its usage has
caught on among computer professionals.
[2]
Pretexting
Pretexting (adj.
pretextual), also known in the UK as
blagging or
bohoing, is the act of creating and using an invented scenario (the
pretext)
to engage a targeted victim in a manner that increases the chance the
victim will divulge information or perform actions that would be
unlikely in ordinary circumstances.
[4] An elaborate
lie, it most often involves some prior research or setup and the use of this information for impersonation (
e.g., date of birth,
Social Security Number, last bill amount) to
establish legitimacy in the mind of the target.
[5]
This technique can be used to fool a business into disclosing customer information as well as by
private investigators
to obtain telephone records, utility records, banking records and other
information directly from company service representatives. The
information can then be used to establish even greater legitimacy under
tougher questioning with a manager,
e.g., to make account changes, get specific balances, etc.
Pretexting can also be used to impersonate co-workers, police, bank,
tax authorities, clergy, insurance investigators — or any other
individual who could have perceived authority or right-to-know in the
mind of the targeted victim. The pretexter must simply prepare answers
to questions that might be asked by the victim. In some cases, all that
is needed is a voice that sounds authoritative, an earnest tone, and an
ability to think on one's feet to create a pretextual scenario.
Diversion theft
Diversion theft, also known as the "Corner Game"
[6] or "Round the Corner Game", originated in the East End of London.
In summary, diversion theft is a "con" exercised by professional
thieves, normally against a transport or courier company. The objective
is to persuade the persons responsible for a legitimate delivery that
the consignment is requested elsewhere — hence, "round the corner".
Phishing
Phishing is a technique of fraudulently obtaining private
information. Typically, the phisher sends an e-mail that appears to come
from a legitimate business—a bank, or credit card company—requesting
"verification" of information and warning of some
dire consequence
if it is not provided. The e-mail usually contains a link to a
fraudulent web page that seems legitimate—with company logos and
content—and has a form requesting everything from a home address to an
ATM card's
PIN.
For example, 2003 saw the proliferation of a phishing scam in which users received e-mails supposedly from
eBay
claiming that the user's account was about to be suspended unless a
link provided was clicked to update a credit card (information that the
genuine eBay already had). Because it is relatively simple to make a Web
site resemble a legitimate organization's site by mimicking the HTML
code, the scam counted on people being tricked into thinking they were
being contacted by eBay and subsequently, were going to eBay's site to
update their account information. By
spamming
large groups of people, the "phisher" counted on the e-mail being read
by a percentage of people who already had listed credit card numbers
with eBay legitimately, who might respond.
IVR or phone phishing
This technique uses a rogue
interactive voice response
(IVR) system to recreate a legitimate-sounding copy of a bank or other
institution's IVR system. The victim is prompted (typically via a
phishing e-mail) to call in to the "bank" via a (ideally toll free)
number provided in order to "verify" information. A typical system will
reject log-ins continually, ensuring the victim enters PINs or passwords
multiple times, often disclosing several different passwords. More
advanced systems transfer the victim to the attacker posing as a
customer service agent for further questioning.
One could even record the typical commands ("Press one to change your
password, press two to speak to customer service" ...) and play back
the direction manually in real time, giving the appearance of being an
IVR without the expense.
Phone phishing is also called
vishing.
Baiting
Baiting is like the real-world Trojan Horse that uses physical media and relies on the curiosity or greed of the victim.
[7]
In this
attack, the attacker leaves a
malware infected
floppy disk,
CD-ROM, or
USB flash drive
in a location sure to be found (bathroom, elevator, sidewalk, parking
lot), gives it a legitimate looking and curiosity-piquing label, and
simply waits for the victim to use the device.
For example, an attacker might create a disk featuring a corporate
logo, readily available from the target's web site, and write "Executive
Salary Summary Q2 2012" on the front. The attacker would then leave the
disk on the floor of an elevator or somewhere in the lobby of the
targeted company. An unknowing employee might find it and subsequently
insert the disk into a computer to satisfy their curiosity, or a good
samaritan might find it and turn it in to the company.
In either case, as a consequence of merely inserting the disk into a
computer to see the contents, the user would unknowingly install
malware on it, likely giving an attacker unfettered access to the victim's PC and, perhaps, the targeted company's internal
computer network.
Unless computer controls block the infection, PCs set to "auto-run"
inserted media may be compromised as soon as a rogue disk is inserted.
Hostile devices, more attractive than simple memory, can also be used.
[8] For instance, a "lucky winner" is sent a free
digital audio player that actually compromises any computer it is plugged to.
Quid pro quo
Quid pro quo means
something for something:
- An attacker calls random numbers at a company, claiming to be
calling back from technical support. Eventually this person will hit
someone with a legitimate problem, grateful that someone is calling back
to help them. The attacker will "help" solve the problem and, in the
process, have the user type commands that give the attacker access or
launch malware.
- In a 2003 information security survey, 90% of office workers gave researchers what they claimed was their password in answer to a survey question in exchange for a cheap pen.[9]
Similar surveys in later years obtained similar results using
chocolates and other cheap lures, although they made no attempt to
validate the passwords.[10]
Tailgating
An attacker, seeking entry to a restricted area secured by unattended, electronic
access control, e.g. by
RFID
card, simply walks in behind a person who has legitimate access.
Following common courtesy, the legitimate person will usually hold the
door open for the attacker. The legitimate person may fail to ask for
identification for any of several reasons, or may accept an assertion
that the attacker has forgotten or lost the appropriate identity token.
The attacker may also fake the action of presenting an identity token.
Other types
Common
confidence tricksters
or fraudsters also could be considered "social engineers" in the wider
sense, in that they deliberately deceive and manipulate people,
exploiting human weaknesses to obtain personal benefit. They may, for
example, use social engineering techniques as part of an IT fraud.
A very recent type of social engineering technique includes spoofing
or cracking IDs of people having popular e-mail IDs such as
Yahoo!,
GMail,
Hotmail, etc. Among the many motivations for deception are:
- Phishing credit-card account numbers and their passwords.
- Cracking private e-mails and chat histories, and manipulating them
by using common editing techniques before using them to extort money and
creating distrust among individuals.
- Cracking websites of companies or organizations and destroying their reputation.
- Computer virus hoaxes
Countermeasures
- Organizations must, on an employee/personnel level, establish
frameworks of trust. (i.e., When/Where/Why/How should sensitive
information be handled?)
- Organizations must identify which information is sensitive and
question its integrity in all forms. (i.e., Social Engineering, Building
Security, Computer Security, etc.)
- Organizations must establish security protocols for the people who
handle sensitive information. (i.e., Paper-Trails for information
disclosure and/or forensic crumbs)
- Employees must be trained in security protocols relevant to their
position. (e.g., employees must identify people who steer towards
sensitive information.) (also: In situations such as tailgating, if a
person's identity cannot be verified, then employees must be trained to
politely refuse.)
- An Organization's framework must be tested periodically, and these tests must be unannounced.
- Insert a critical eye into any of the above steps: there is no perfect solution for information integrity.[11]
- Dumpster Security by using a waste management service that has
dumpsters with locks on them, with keys to them limited only to the
waste management company and the cleaning staff. Also making sure the
dumpster is located in a place where it is not out of view, and trying
to access it will carry a risk to being seen or caught or behind a
locked gate or fence where the person must trespass before they can
attempt to access the dumpster.[12]
