Social Engineering: One of the biggest threats to your company’s security

Social engineering is the art of “human hacking,” which means manipulating people to give up confidential information. Let’s face it… humans are gullible. We like to be liked, to help, and we do not like to be yelled at. But one of our most dangerous attributes when it comes to becoming a victim… is that we naturally trust each other.

Criminals use social engineering tactics because it is easier to exploit our natural instinct to trust than it is to discover ways to hack your software. These devious people are often behind phishing emails, fake-text calling and emergency questions. All are designed to appear normal and request you to take action; clicking a link, answering a question or giving access to company and client information.

Today’s technology has helped fuel sophisticated attacks by utilizing a cloak of ‘invisibility’, the internet. The goal is to get people to give out passwords, bank information, or even better, to hand over access to a computer so they can install malicious software, giving them access to the same information, and control over the computer.

By now, you may be thinking, “isn’t that what my anti-virus is for?” Anti-virus does help, but security is all about knowing who and what to trust.

The weakest link in the security chain is the human who accepts a person or scenario at face value. It doesn’t matter how many locks and deadbolts are on your doors and windows if you trust the person at the gate who says they’re a delivery person, and you let them in without first checking to see if they are legitimate.

New employees are the most susceptible to social engineering, followed by contractors, executive assistants and human resources.

Most small business owners believe digital theft won't happen to them. They're wrong.

Of the last 20 major attacks on corporations, 12 involved social engineering, that’s over 70 percent. These attacks are on the rise because it’s the easiest way into companies and it merits a lot of profit. New research finds social engineering is now a common attack strategy and hackers are hitting organizations frequently. Attacks are widespread, frequent and costs organizations thousands of dollars annually. Social engineering attacks cost victims an average of $25,000 - $100,000 per security incident.

Even worse, almost a third of organizations say they don’t have any sort of social engineering prevention policy on place.

Successful social engineering has an overwhelming negative affect on a business. With the loss of confidential information about clients, their finances, businesses, private lives, etc. your company’s reputation and goodwill are in jeopardy. The loss of trust will ultimately erode an organization’s base in the long run. Then there’s the legal liability costs.