Social Engineering - How attackers take advantage of the weakest link

This article goes over social engineering attacks and why you should be aware of them.

A "Phishing" hook

Social engineering is a type of attack that targets human behavior rather than technical vulnerabilities. Common examples include:

• Phishing – fake emails

• Vishing – scam phone calls

• Smishing – fraudulent text messages

• And custom attacks that combine one or more of these methods

As technology becomes more secure, attackers often go after the "low-hanging fruit"—people. Humans are naturally helpful and often distracted, making them vulnerable to subtle tricks and deception.

Example: Business Email Compromise (BEC)

An attacker might research your organization and discover a strong partnership with another company. Suppose that company sends invoices on the second Monday of every month. The attacker could then:

1. Register a look-alike domain (a technique known as typosquatting)

2. Send a phishing email pretending to be the partner company

3. Ask your finance team to update payment information to a fraudulent bank account

Without a clear review and approval process in place, this kind of attack could succeed. That’s why procedures for verifying sensitive requests—especially around finances—are critical.

Example: Vishing (Voice Phishing)

Let’s say someone calls claiming to be from your ISP or a building maintenance vendor, saying technicians will arrive later to fix a problem. If you’re not careful, you might unknowingly let threat actors into your building. Once inside, they could gain access to your IT infrastructure—especially since ISP hardware is often located near critical systems.

Why This Matters

It only takes one mistake to compromise your company’s confidentiality, integrity, or availability. To protect against these threats, it’s essential to:

• Create and enforce clear security policies and procedures

• Train employees to spot and respond to suspicious activity

• Build a security-conscious culture across your team

• Work with a cybersecurity partner to run social engineering assessments and identify gaps

Social engineering is one of the most common and effective attack methods today. Stay prepared, stay alert, and make sure your defenses start with your people.