Spamming involves receiving deceptive mail like one has won the lottery then engineers ask for information to receive payment so as to gain financially or for social gains. For fake spyware, they claim to have utilities that are anti-spyware but are actually the spyware that can hack into your system. The engineers in this case pretend to be genuine and are out to offer solutions.
Protecting individuals from social engineering
There are various ways to prevent social engineering when one is using the internet. People should update themselves on the new techniques that social engineers are using. People should always contact their banks or any other financial institution using unknown sites or links. A website can never be assumed to be legitimate just by looking at it, it is important to ensure from experts that a website that is being used to give crucial information is a secured website.
It is also very important to regularly check your online accounts, and passwords should be changed as often as possible. It is not advisable to fill out forms from popup windows or emails. Lastly, account balance should be checked regularly, and bank statements should be demanded from your banker to ensure your account has not been hacked.
Protecting organizations from social engineering
For any organization to combat social engineering, it is important to ensure there is high level security, and creating awareness by educating employees on social engineering. When it comes to security, an organization should have a well documented policy on security...
All prospective employees should also be screened so that they don't pose a threat to the organization. Software systems like firewalls and antivirus software should be put in place so as to filter security breach occurrences.
Education and awareness is the most important. Adequate awareness and training will ensure the required standard of behavior is met. Also, well trained personnel will be in a better position to deal with an attack in case of any. By training the personnel, there will be regular audits which might spot irregularities and hence deal with the situation.
Conclusion
Creating secure networks and clear policies might seem as a solution to social engineering, but the unpredictable nature of humans driven by greed and curiosity, will give rise to new techniques to beat the systems. However, organizations should come up with procedures and policies defining the roles and responsibilities of each user not just the security personnel. This should be followed by ensuring policies are properly followed and there is regular training.
References
Social- engineer. (2010). Security Through Education. Retrieved October13, 2010, from http://www.social-engineer.org/
Podgorecki, A. And Alexander, J. (1996) Social Engineering: Internet Fraud. New York:
McGill-Queen's Press
Thapar, A. (2008. November 19). Sophisticated Engineering Techniques in Business. Time magazine, 160(5), 24-26.
