An overview of social engineering
Old-fashioned cons are still a popular threat
Colin Greenlees, Siemens Enterprise Communications Limited | 11 May 2009, 12:00 | Data security
Social engineering is a form of the old fashioned confidence trick in that it is principally concerned with manipulating people into performing actions or divulging confidential information that they would not normally reveal.
Hi-tech protection systems are completely ineffectual against such attacks. Most employees are unaware that they have been manipulated.
The sign of a truly successful social engineer is that they receive information without raising any suspicion as to what they are doing, quietly slipping away once they have the information they need.
