Social engineering is a significant challenge for security teams at organizations worldwide – and it’s tough to stop. Unibeam offers a solution that could significantly reduce this threat. In this post, we’ll explore what social engineering is, why current social engineering prevention strategies fall short, and how SIM-based technology is turning this trend around.
What is social engineering?
Social engineering in cybersecurity is a technique for manipulating individuals into divulging confidential information or performing actions that compromise security, often by exploiting human psychology and trust. Instead of hacking computers, social engineers manipulate individuals. For example, a hacker might pretend to be trustworthy, like a company official or a colleague, to convince a person to reveal a password, bank login details, or other sensitive data. Social engineering aims to bypass technical security measures by targeting human behavior.
Examples of social engineering
There are many different types of social engineering attacks, notably:
- Phishing
Phishing attacks aim to deceive individuals into revealing sensitive information or doing something harmful. In phishing attacks, cybercriminals draft convincing emails or texts, pretending to be banks, governments, or other well-trusted sources – encouraging the recipients to click on a link and install malware, reveal passwords, give credit card details, and more. - Spear phishing
Spear phishing attacks target a specific organization or individual. The difference is the size of the target. Phishing, in general, is a “bulk” activity, while Spear phishing is aimed at a specific target. - Smishing
Smishing, or SMS phishing, uses text messages to trick people into downloading malware or sharing sensitive information. It is a quite popular form of social engineering, as mobile phone open rates range between 8% and 14%, compared to email open rates that hardly exceed 2%. - Quid Pro Quo
“Quid pro quo” means “something for something” in Latin. It is a social engineering attack type in which a threat actor offers a service in exchange for information or access. For example, a social engineer could impersonate an IT technician, offering assistance. In exchange for addressing the technical issue, they might ask for sensitive information and login credentials or request the victim to disable security features like 2FA temporarily. - Honey trapping
Honey trapping is a type of social engineering in which the bad actor creates a fake profile that appeals to the target. Threat actors often use flattery to build a connection with the victim. The attacker cultivates a relationship, usually an emotionally manipulative one. Once the relationship is built, the target exploits the connection to extract sensitive information. - Whaling
Whaling is a phishing attack that targets high-profile company employees, commonly called “whales” in cybercrimes. These attacks are personalized, and threat actors spend much time researching the target. - Baiting
Baiting is a social engineering attack that uses temptation to lure victims and manipulate them into revealing secret or sensitive information. These messages often use false promises or curiosity hooks to grab readers’ attention. Baiting’s delivery mechanisms include emails, social media, text messages, or even infected USB drives, which they leave in locations to tempt curious individuals to plug them into their devices.
Current social engineering prevention solutions fall short
Current social engineering prevention solutions fall short because they rely too much on people to avoid attacks, which is unrealistic. The human element is always vulnerable – people can be tricked, make mistakes, or fall for convincing scams. No amount of training will eliminate human error, as social engineering exploits emotions like trust, fear, and urgency. Attackers know this and use these tactics to manipulate individuals into giving up sensitive information.
Since the human aspect of security will never be fully resolved, technology needs to step up. Instead of relying on people to recognize phishing emails or avoid clicking malicious links, advanced systems should be in place to detect and block such threats automatically. While people can be trained to be cautious, only technology can identify and stop social engineering attempts before they reach individuals.
One way to prevent social engineering attacks is the ongoing shift to SIM-based authentication, using solutions like Unibeam’s.
How SIM-based tech can help
Unibeam’s SIM-based technology offers a secure and easy way for companies to protect customers from social engineering and SIM-swap attacks by linking the phone’s SIM card to the mobile device. For example:
- Unibeam shuts down Smishing and other attacks that aim to steal passwords since Unibeam authenticates with the user’s SIM (which fraudsters cannot steal) – making passwords obtained irrelevant.
- For social engineering techniques that aim to convince a user to approve a login or payment in real-time (usually via impersonation over a phone call from a fake bank or a deep-fake relative), Unibeam prevents authentication pop-ups from being displayed on the phone when there is an active call on that phone. What’s more, Unibeam enables trusted parties (like authenticated banks) to limit or block certain transaction types and amounts if they are attempted while a call is in progress.
Unibeam works on any device and network without additional apps, making it as convenient as using an OTP (One-Time Password) but with the added layer of SIM-based security. This ensures that even if someone tries to perform a SIM swap or manipulate the customer through social engineering, Unibeam can quickly detect and prevent fraudulent activity.
Trusted by millions, Unibeam secures logins, transaction approvals, and more, offering a solid defense against the human vulnerabilities that social engineering exploits. It’s a powerful tool to protect users without relying on them to spot every threat.
