Phishing Attack: Successful Social Engineering Principles
Question
Recently several employees were victims of a phishing email that appeared to originate from the company president.
The email claimed the employees would be disciplined if they did not click on a malicious link in the message.
Which of the following principles of social engineering made this attack successful?
Answers
Explanations
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A. B. C. D.A.
The principle of social engineering that made this attack successful is "Authority".
"Authority" is a principle of social engineering that involves exploiting an individual's natural inclination to comply with someone who appears to be in a position of power or authority. In this case, the phishing email appeared to come from the company president, who is a figure of authority within the organization. The email threatened disciplinary action, which further emphasized the president's power and authority over the employees.
The attackers used this principle to create a sense of urgency and to trick the employees into clicking on the malicious link. By claiming to be from a figure of authority, the attackers were able to bypass the employees' usual skepticism and defenses.
In general, social engineering attacks exploit human emotions, motivations, and vulnerabilities to manipulate individuals into performing actions or divulging sensitive information. The other principles of social engineering mentioned in the answer choices are:
Spamming: This principle involves sending a large volume of unsolicited messages or emails to potential victims. It is a method of casting a wide net to see who takes the bait, rather than targeting specific individuals. While spamming can be effective for some types of attacks, it is not relevant to the scenario described in the question.
Social proof: This principle involves using the behavior or opinions of others to influence an individual's actions or decisions. For example, a social engineering attacker might create fake social media accounts that appear to belong to trusted friends or colleagues, and use those accounts to persuade the victim to click on a link or download a file. Social proof can be a powerful motivator, but it is not relevant to the scenario described in the question.
Scarcity: This principle involves creating a sense of urgency or scarcity to motivate an individual to take action. For example, a social engineering attacker might claim that there is a limited time to take advantage of a special offer, or that a valuable resource is in danger of being lost. While this principle can be effective in some scenarios, it is not relevant to the scenario described in the question.
