Social Engineering

Social engineering is a manipulation technique attackers use to trick individuals into divulging confidential information or performing actions that compromise security.45 This technique relies on exploiting human psychology and trust, rather than technical vulnerabilities, to gain unauthorized access to systems or data. Common social engineering tactics include phishing, pretexting, baiting, and tailgating.

ThreatNG helps organizations assess and mitigate their susceptibility to social engineering attacks by:

• Identifying potential targets: ThreatNG's External Discovery and Assessment modules can identify employees with public-facing roles or access to sensitive information and who social engineering attacks might target.

• Providing threat intelligence: ThreatNG's Intelligence Repositories offer valuable information on social engineering tactics, phishing campaigns, and other threats that could be used to target employees. This intelligence can be used to raise awareness and educate employees about social engineering risks.

• Assessing susceptibility: ThreatNG's Detailed Assessment Ratings evaluate an organization's susceptibility to BEC, phishing, and brand damage, considering domain intelligence, dark web presence, and sentiment analysis. This can help organizations identify areas most vulnerable to social engineering. 

• Security awareness training: ThreatNG can support security awareness training programs by providing real-world examples of social engineering attacks and best practices for avoiding them.

Examples of ThreatNG Helping:

• ThreatNG identifies a phishing campaign that is targeting the organization's employees. This information can alert employees and provide them with the information they need to identify and avoid phishing emails.

• ThreatNG discovers a fake website impersonating the organization and attempting to phish customer credentials. This information can warn customers and take down the malicious website.

• ThreatNG identifies an employee actively discussing sensitive company information on social media. This information can be used to educate the employee about social engineering risks and the importance of protecting confidential information. 

Examples of ThreatNG Working with Complementary Solutions:

• ThreatNG integrates with security awareness training platforms to provide employees with interactive simulations and real-world examples of social engineering attacks.

• ThreatNG integrates with email security solutions to help filter out phishing emails and other malicious messages.