Unauthorized Disclosure of Root Password
Question
A helpdesk technician received a phone call from an administrator at a remote branch office.
The administrator claimed to have forgotten the password for the root account on UNIX servers and asked for it.
Although the technician didn't know any administrator at the branch office, the guy sounded really friendly and since he knew the root password himself, he supplied the caller with the password.
What type of attack has just occurred?
Answers
Explanations
Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer
A. B. C. D.A.
The type of attack that has just occurred in this scenario is a Social Engineering attack (option A).
Social Engineering is a tactic used by attackers to manipulate or trick individuals into divulging confidential information such as passwords or other sensitive data. Attackers often use social engineering to gain unauthorized access to computer systems or to carry out other malicious activities.
In this scenario, the attacker posed as an administrator at a remote branch office and convinced the helpdesk technician to divulge the root password for UNIX servers. The attacker used a friendly tone and established a rapport with the technician to build trust and convince them to give up the password.
This type of attack can be very effective as it often preys on human emotions such as fear, curiosity, or helpfulness. Social engineering attacks can take many forms, including phishing emails, phone calls, or even in-person interactions.
In contrast, the other options are not applicable in this scenario. A Brute Force attack involves attempting every possible combination of characters until the correct password is found, which was not the case in this scenario. War dialing is the process of dialing a large number of phone numbers to find a modem or other device that is connected to a network, which is not applicable in this scenario. Finally, a Replay attack involves intercepting and re-transmitting data to gain unauthorized access, which also does not apply to this scenario.
