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<p>Cyber criminals don’t just
slip into your network with the help of some serious hacking skills.&nbsp; In fact, there’s a much simpler way to do
that... through your employees.&nbsp; </p>
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<p>Social engineering is a
tactic hackers are using more and more frequently to infiltrate systems.&nbsp; It involves a variety of approaches that
focus on manipulating employees to drop standard security protocols.&nbsp; And if you expect to protect your data these
days, then you’ll have to take the necessary steps to educate and train your
employees on how to detect and avoid these approaches.&nbsp; </p>
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<p>Here are a few of them to
look out for:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
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<p><strong>Phishing:</strong></p>
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<p>Most
business professionals are familiar with the concept of phishing, but not
everyone is able to successfully sidestep an attack.&nbsp; Phishing attacks usually come at you via
email and attempt to gather information about you or your business
illegitimately.&nbsp; This information could
be personal, financial, or client specific. &nbsp;For example, Mattel fell victim to a phishing
attack a few years ago when a Mattel executive sent $3 million to a group of
hackers under false pretenses.&nbsp; But these
attacks don’t have to be as extravagant.&nbsp;
It could be an email asking you to update your login credentials, click
on a link, or download an attachment.&nbsp; </p>
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<p><strong>Exchanges:</strong></p>
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<p>Whether
it’s on a website, through an email, or in person, a criminal practicing social
engineering might offer you something in return for information.&nbsp; A free download.&nbsp; A neat pen.&nbsp;
Some money.&nbsp; Whatever it is, it
usually doesn’t come at a fair price.&nbsp;
That free download will turn into ransomware, and that neat pen will
result in a hijacked password and hacked database.</p>
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<p><strong>Sneaking:</strong></p>
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<p>Some
criminals will resort to lightweight espionage to get what they want, and they
rely on the human element to help them do this.&nbsp;
And this isn’t as difficult as it seems, either.&nbsp; If the building is locked by keycards, a
criminal can just wait until a polite office worker decides to hold the door
open for the person behind them.&nbsp; If
computers are visible from the waiting room, a criminal can just glance over
the counter to gather sensitive information.&nbsp;
Everyday interactions and simple observations can tell the common hacker
more than you might think. </p>
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