Social Engineering and Security Attacks

• Social engineering is a type of security attack that manipulates people into giving away critical information or access details.
• Social engineering is effective because people are the weakest point in any computer system.
• Fear is often used to put people off guard and make them more likely to comply with instructions.
• A common form of social engineering is phishing, which uses fake emails and websites to trick people into giving away their sensitive data.
• Phishing emails often appear to be from trustworthy sources like banks, e-commerce sites, or social media accounts.
• Phishing emails may ask users to verify their accounts by clicking on a link or taking some other action.
• Shoulder surfing is another form of social engineering, which involves observing people entering their login details, passwords, or PINs.
• Shoulder surfing can be done in person or by using recording equipment.
• Social engineering doesn't require many technical skills, but it involves being able to trick and manipulate people to get their details.
• Phishing and shoulder surfing are important types of social engineering attacks that students need to be aware of for the GCSE OCR syllabus.

Test your knowledge about social engineering, a type of security attack that manipulates people into giving away critical information or access details. This quiz covers various tactics such as phishing and shoulder surfing, and the impact of social engineering on computer security.