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Questions and Answers
What is the primary goal of social engineering attacks that exploit cognitive biases?
Which emotional manipulation tactic is used to elicit a response by creating a sense of fear or excitement?
What is the primary goal of pretexting attacks?
What is the term for targeting high-level executives or officials with phishing attacks?
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What is the term for creating a sense of obligation through small favors or gifts?
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What is the term for using social influence to build credibility?
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What is the term for creating a sense of urgency or limited availability?
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Which influence tactic involves encouraging individuals to follow through on commitments?
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Study Notes
Social Engineering
Human Psychology
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Cognitive Biases: Mental shortcuts that influence decision-making, making individuals vulnerable to social engineering attacks
- Confirmation bias: tendency to believe information that confirms existing beliefs
- Anchoring bias: reliance on the first piece of information received
- Availability heuristic: judging likelihood based on how easily examples come to mind
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Emotional Manipulation: Using emotions to influence behavior
- Fear, excitement, or curiosity can be exploited to elicit a response
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Human Vulnerabilities: Common weaknesses in human psychology
- Curiosity: enticing individuals to engage with suspicious links or files
- Trust: exploiting trust in authority figures or familiar brands
- Urgency: creating a sense of urgency to prompt impulsive decisions
Social Manipulation
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Pretexting: Creating a false scenario to gain trust or access
- Posing as a authority figure (e.g., IT support) to gain access to sensitive information
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Phishing: Using deception to obtain sensitive information
- Spear phishing: targeting specific individuals with tailored attacks
- Whaling: targeting high-level executives or officials
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Baiting: Offering a tempting deal or prize in exchange for sensitive information
- Leaving a malware-infected device or storage media in a public area
Influence Tactics
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Reciprocity: Creating a sense of obligation through small favors or gifts
- Offering a free trial or demo to build trust
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Commitment and Consistency: Encouraging individuals to follow through on commitments
- Obtaining a small commitment, then using it to justify a larger request
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Social Proof: Using social influence to build credibility
- Displaying fake reviews or testimonials to build trust
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Scarcity: Creating a sense of urgency or limited availability
- Limited-time offers or exclusive deals to prompt impulsive decisions
Social Engineering
Human Psychology
- Cognitive biases are mental shortcuts that influence decision-making, making individuals vulnerable to social engineering attacks
- Confirmation bias: the tendency to believe information that confirms existing beliefs
- Anchoring bias: the reliance on the first piece of information received
- Availability heuristic: judging likelihood based on how easily examples come to mind
- Emotional manipulation uses emotions to influence behavior
- Fear, excitement, or curiosity can be exploited to elicit a response
- Human vulnerabilities are common weaknesses in human psychology
- Curiosity: enticing individuals to engage with suspicious links or files
- Trust: exploiting trust in authority figures or familiar brands
- Urgency: creating a sense of urgency to prompt impulsive decisions
Social Manipulation
- Pretexting creates a false scenario to gain trust or access
- Posing as an authority figure (e.g., IT support) to gain access to sensitive information
- Phishing uses deception to obtain sensitive information
- Spear phishing: targeting specific individuals with tailored attacks
- Whaling: targeting high-level executives or officials
- Baiting offers a tempting deal or prize in exchange for sensitive information
- Leaving a malware-infected device or storage media in a public area
Influence Tactics
- Reciprocity creates a sense of obligation through small favors or gifts
- Offering a free trial or demo to build trust
- Commitment and consistency encourages individuals to follow through on commitments
- Obtaining a small commitment, then using it to justify a larger request
- Social proof uses social influence to build credibility
- Displaying fake reviews or testimonials to build trust
- Scarcity creates a sense of urgency or limited availability
- Limited-time offers or exclusive deals to prompt impulsive decisions
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Description
Understand how social engineers manipulate human psychology, including cognitive biases and emotional manipulation, to influence behavior and decision-making.
