1. THE MIND GAME BEYOND Normal HUMAN!

2. Simple Definition Social engineering is a psycho-social attack that subverts human trust and helpfulness in order to attain the attackers goals. 3. Outline What is it? How is it done? Who is at risk? Approach? 4. What is it? Social engineering is the oldest form of hacking. Social engineers focus on the users of the system. By gaining the trust of the user, a social engineer can simply ask for whatever information he or she wantsand usually get it. 5. The Social Engineering!!!! Uses Psychological Methods Exploits human tendency to trust Goals are the Same as Hacking the art and science of getting people to comply with your wishes 6. Why Social Engineering? Easier than technical hacking Hard to detect and track 7. A social engineers mantra There is no patch for human stupidity. 8. The Mind of a Social Engineer More like actors than hackers Learn to know how people feel by observing their actions can alter these feelings by changing what they say and do make the victim want to give them the information they need 9. How is it done? Attacks come in various forms: On the phone, over e-mail, in person impersonation 10. Impersonation Play the part! Social Engineers must: Anticipate problems Know jargon and procedures of the role 11. Impersonation And most importantly, knowledge of how to build trust with whomever they need information from. Social engineers most often impersonate authority figures, assistants to authority figure, and new employees. 12. More techniques Dummy Mode Bury the key question Research (Google) 13. Over the phone The phone is the most popular method of social engineering because it is difficult to verify or deny someones identity. 14. Over e-mail and IM E-mail attacks are very common (phishing). E-mail is also used for impersonation. Obtaining password for an IM account could lead to access to a bank account, other personal data. 15. Dumpster diving Digging through trash at corporations in search of sensitive data. 16. Outline What is it? How is it done? Who is at risk? Approach? 17. Who is at risk? Everyone. Everyone with information is a potential target! 18. Real World Examples 90% of office workers gave away their password for a pen. 70% of people who trade their password for a bar of chocolate. 19. Real World Examples 1/3 of the IRS employees provided their user name and changed their password in a 2005 security audit. USC vs. Cal basketball game 20. Approaches Carelessness Comfort Zone Helpfulness Fear 21. Careless Approach Victim is Careless Does not implement, use, or enforce proper countermeasures Used for Reconnaissance Looking for what is laying around 22. Careless Examples Dumpster Diving/Trashing Huge amount of information in the trash Most of it does not seem to be a threat The who, what and where of an organization Knowledge of internal systems Materials for greater authenticity Intelligence Agencies have done this for years 23. Comfort Zone Examples Impersonation Could be anyone Tech Support Co-Worker Boss CEO User Maintenance Staff Generally Two Goals Asking for a password Building access - Careless Approach 24. Comfort Zone Approach Victim organization members are in a comfortable environment Lower threat perception Usually requires the use of another approach 25. Helpful Approach People generally try to help even if they do not know who they are helping Usually involves being in a position of obvious need Attacker generally does not even ask for the help they receive 26. Helpful Examples Piggybacking Attacker will trail an employee entering the building More Effective: Carry something large so they hold the door open for you Go in when a large group of employees are going in Pretend to be unable to find door key 27. Fear Approach Usually draws from the other approaches Puts the user in a state of fear and anxiety Very aggressive 28. Fear Examples Conformity The user is the only one who has not helped out the attacker with this request in the past Personal responsibility is diffused User gets justification for granting an attack. 29. Combating Social Engineers User Education and Training Identifying Areas of Risk Tactics correspond to Area Strong, Enforced, and Tested Security Policy 30. User Education and Training Security Orientation for new employees Yearly security training for all employees Weekly newsletters, videos, brochures, games and booklets detailing incidents and how they could have been prevented Signs, posters, coffee mugs, pens, pencils, mouse pads, screen savers, etc with security slogans (I.e. Loose lips sink ships). 31. Security Policy Management should know the importance of protecting against social engineering attacks Specific enough that employees should not have to make judgment calls Include procedure for responding to an attack 32. Areas of Risk Certain areas have certain risks What are the risks for these areas? Help Desk, Building entrance, Office, Mail Room, Machine room/Phone Closet, Dumpsters, Intranet/Internet, Overall 33. Conclusions Social Engineering is a very real threat Realistic prevention is hard Can be expensive Militant Vs. Helpful Helpdesk Staff Reasonable Balance 34. You could spend a fortune purchasing technology and services...and your network infrastructure could still remain vulnerable to old-fashioned manipulation. -Kevin Mitnick 35. Questions 36. References Psychological Based Social Engineering, Charles Lively. December 2003. SANS Institute. 10 September 2005. http://www.giac.org/certified_professionals/practicals/gsec/3547.php Sarah Granger, Social Engineering Fundamentals: Part I. Security Focus. December 2001. 10 September 2005. http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1527 Sarah Granger, Social Engineering Fundamentals: Part II. Security Focus. January 2002. 10 September 2005. http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1533