Human Vectors/Social Engineering
In the realm of human vectors and social engineering, attackers exploit the vulnerabilities of human psychology to breach digital defenses. We could call this “hacking the human” as the attacker tries to catch their victim off guard. The hacker manipulates the victim by appealing to desires based on money or security or pretending to be a person or company the victim trusts to gain unauthorized access or information.
The following list describes the tactics that cybercriminals employ to manipulate and deceive and explores the strategies we can adopt to outwit these psychological manipulations:
- Phishing: Phishing is an untargeted attack in which deception plays a major part. Using seemingly genuine emails, messages, or websites, attackers cast their nets wide, aiming to lure recipients into divulging personal data, passwords, or financial details. Attackers capitalize on human curiosity, urgency, and trust, often leading recipients...