While business owners may invest heavily in malware protection, they often overlook the vulnerabilities inherent in human behavior. Social engineering, a cunning strategy that exploits human trust and psychology, requires little or no sophisticated technology, yet can inflict significant damage by luring unsuspecting individuals into divulging sensitive information.
Avoid falling victim to social engineering tactics with these tips
Most commonly used terms in cybersecurity explained
With so many different IT security terms and concepts that you need to learn when running a business, where should you start? Diving into cybersecurity can be challenging, but learning about the most commonly used terms in IT security is a good place to start.
4 Social engineering scams to watch out for
Experts are constantly creating new security systems to protect individuals and businesses from hackers. From those who want to attend popular events like the Olympics to avoiding an angry boss, hackers are preying on gullible victims to circumvent network security systems and steal sensitive information.
Falling for it: youth and tech scams
As long as there have been salesmen, there have been scammers trying to sell useless products. Traditionally the elderly have fallen prey to cold-call fraud, but now scam artists are getting tech-smart, and it's the younger generation of computer users who are falling for scams.
Social engineering and personal security
The technology of crime is evolving, and criminals get smarter every day. But when technology proves too difficult to exploit, criminals resort to manipulating information from their targets via social engineering. This burgeoning field allows criminals to trick people into disclosing sensitive information such as passwords and bank information.
Beware of these social engineering tactics
As the spectacle and competitive atmosphere of the Rio Olympic Games have drawn the world’s attention, hackers who use social engineering are inching closer to our private information. Although our systems may be prepared for the likes of malware and worms, social engineering is a different beast of its own.
Potential IT security issues in 2016
As a small or medium-sized business owner or manager, it’s only to be expected that you want to keep your company safe from cyber attacks and hacking attempts. But how much do you really know about online safety? With massive corporations such as Sony falling victim to attack, cyber security has never been more in the public eye.
Malware and the Human Factor: The Role of User Education
Securing your business data is twofold. The first part entails having the right security software and security policies. The second is providing the right user training to your employees, making them more aware of the different scams and ploys used in socially engineered cyber-attacks. One of the things many people fail to realize is that securing business data from malware and other sorts of cyber-attacks doesn’t stop with implementing the right security software. These days, cyber-criminals also use all sorts of tricks to bait unsuspecting employees into being catalysts for malware entering your system. Reports cite that as much as 60 percent of cyber and malware attacks on businesses are done through social engineering – meaning that instead of a direct attack on your system, hackers are using ploys found on email and social networks to get people in your organization to unwittingly introduce malware into your IT infrastructure. This is why it’s equally important to put emphasis on training your employees to recognize common cyber-attack strategies such as phishing, or how to use proper virus scanning software so any external or thumb drives they plug into their computers are malware-free. Remember, it only takes one mistake from a gullible employee to open the gates of your system to keyloggers and other sorts of malware and viruses. Keeping your company’s IT system safe is an investment. Getting the right security protocols and then training your employees to not only use and respect these protocols but also be more aware about security risks goes a long way in keeping your data safe and your operations stable.