Data privacy and information security are crucial to the success of your business. And while there are plenty of ways to protect your data from physical or software attacks, there’s one area you may have overlooked: the human factor. People can be your business’s greatest asset — but they can also be the crack in the wall of your IT defences, and can be unknowingly used to breach your system. This is known as a social engineering attack.
Rather than exploiting software or hardware vulnerabilities, a social engineering attack relies on exploiting human psychology to gain access to systems or perform other actions that compromise security. The hack relies on gaining a victim’s trust to manipulate them into divulging sensitive information or enabling access to networks.
Social engineering attacks can happen through email, over the phone or even in person. A bad actor may call and claim they’re from a known organization, such as an IT helpdesk, and request password information or remote access to a computer system or network. Often scammers will create a sense of urgency, driving their victims to act quickly before they have a chance to think through what’s being asked of them.
Attacks can be devastating, leading to data breaches, financial losses or unauthorised access to critical systems. Stolen credentials can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data or financial accounts. Compromised systems can also be used to launch further attacks, propagate malware, or steal more data, perpetuating the cycle of harm.
Defending against social engineering attacks requires awareness, a healthy dose of scepticism and a willingness to ask further questions. If someone makes contact with you or your organization seeking information, look for alternate ways to reach out back to them, such as through the contact information listed on their official website.
Sybiz will never ask for remote access to your database without prior communication about a specific issue the database is facing. If you have any doubt of who you’re speaking to, hang up and call our BusinessCare team on 08 8130 7000. It may not seem like much, but taking just a few extra steps to verify who you’re talking to can help defend your business data from malicious intrusion.