Social Engineering
No matter how sophisticated, modern and impenetrable your security system may be, remember that it is only as strong as its weakest link – which is usually a human. If an employee accidentally plugs a malware-infected USB drive into a company computer, don’t be surprised if a hacker has already infiltrated your internal network. Of course, we can anticipate which technical flaws might be found in the system and what tools an attacker would use to uncover them, but can we foresee the behaviour of an employee who falls victim to a clever manipulation?
What is Social Engineering?
Social Engineering tests are controlled, simulated attacks that allow you to check the alertness of your employees and the effectiveness of your security procedures. In such a test, CyberForces specialists attempt to deceive your staff in various ways – via fake emails, phone calls, SMS messages, and even by trying to physically enter your office. The goal is to verify whether your personnel can recognise a threat and respond appropriately. Ask yourself: do you train your employees to defend against attacks aimed at manipulating them psychologically? Do they know how to safely verify suspicious links and attachments? Are they aware of the techniques cybercriminals use to conceal their true intentions?
Nowadays, social engineering attacks are the simplest and most effective way to bypass even advanced technical security measures. Their power lies in the fact that they often do not arouse the victim’s suspicion until it’s too late. To accurately assess your organisation’s resilience to such threats, social engineering tests cover as many attack vectors as possible. Our specialists use publicly available information (OSINT), along with their knowledge and creativity, to simulate cybercriminal tactics as realistically as possible. Thanks to this approach, the tests remain unpredictable and provide reliable data about vulnerabilities in the human link of your security chain.
How can your organisation benefit from Social Engineering Tests?
Clear measure of your staff’s security awareness
You gain a clear picture of how well employees actually follow security protocols and recognize attacks, rather than relying on assumptions or training alone. This insight allows you to better target future training efforts.
Identify weak points before attackers do
The tests will highlight specific weak spots – be it lack of vigilance, weak passwords, or bypassed procedures – that could normally be exploited by a real attacker. This way, you can close those gaps before a real incident occurs.
Heightened employee awareness
Detailed report and recommendations
After the tests, you will receive a report detailing the simulations carried out, the vulnerabilities discovered, and recommendations for improvement. This makes it easier to plan your next steps – from additional staff training to enhancing security policies and procedures.
Find out how the Social Engineering testing process works
Data Confidentiality Agreement
We sign a data confidentiality agreement.
Interview
Entry points
We map entry points, look for vulnerabilities using white-label intelligence (e.g. the presence of the company and its employees on the network), verify attack vectors and their use during testing.
Strategy
Testing
We simulate an attack using social engineering, according to a scenario. This could be, for example, a break-in to a company’s headquarters or a remote attack using spearphishing.
Report
We prepare a report showing the resources we have accessed, the entry points and the resulting business risks. We suggest training for employees.
Recommendations
Retesting
We recommend conducting retests to verify the effectiveness of new security strategies, to show the customer whether previous attack paths are still exploitable, and to verify other possible attack vectors on the customer’s systems.
Types of Social Engineering Tests
Phishing
This simulation involves sending convincing but fake email messages to employees. The aim is to trick the recipient into clicking a malicious link, downloading a malware-laden attachment, or divulging sensitive information (like passwords). A phishing test reveals how many employees can be duped by such an attempt and whether they follow the company’s security guidelines for email communication.
Smishing
In a smishing test, employees receive fraudulent SMS texts on their phones. The message pretends to be from a trusted source (such as a bank, courier or other service) and asks the recipient to take a certain action (for example, clicking a link or providing a code). Smishing checks your staff’s vigilance when an attack comes via the mobile channel – often seen as a less formal medium that can more easily lull the target into a false sense of security.
Vishing
Vishing involves a controlled attempt to steal information through a phone call. The tester calls targeted employees, posing as an IT support technician, a bank official, or another credible figure. During the conversation, the caller tries to coax the victim into revealing confidential data or performing certain actions (like changing a password to one provided by the caller). A vishing test examines whether employees can recognise a phone scam and adhere to security procedures even in a direct conversation.
Physical entry (infiltration)
This test entails an unauthorised person attempting to physically gain access to the company’s secured premises. The tester may pose as a visitor, courier, maintenance worker or even an employee in order to get into the office, server room or other sensitive areas. The goal is to check the effectiveness of physical security and access control: can someone enter without a badge or pass? Will employees challenge an unfamiliar person in a restricted area? Are there vulnerabilities that would allow an intruder to slip inside?
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Frequently asked questions
What is social engineering?
This is a hacker attack vector designed to deceive the user (employee). It uses deception techniques to manipulate the victim into revealing sensitive data or unknowingly granting access to it by clicking a link or downloading malware.
What does a social engineering attack look like?
After interviewing the client, we attempt to breach their security and conduct a social engineering attack, the consequences of which we will discuss during a post-test training session.
What is phishing?
This is a widespread technique that uses email and text messages to trick users into revealing sensitive information or downloading camouflaged malware.
What is baiting?
In this context, it is a trick used by hackers to obtain confidential user data, such as their account number or insurance. To do this, they use messages containing phishing messages, such as special offers, forms, non-existent winnings, etc.
How to prevent phishing?
Being alert to suspicious behavior and having a high level of threat awareness is key. Knowledge of techniques used to scam people will also help.
Who can fall victim to social engineering attacks?
Absolutely everyone. In the age of ubiquitous digitalization, each of us has remote access to a huge amount of valuable information. The driving force of a malevolent hacker is profit, so their target will often be companies. If you think you are too small an organization to be attacked, you are only making things easier for them by not caring about your own security. Everyone has data that can be monetized in one way or another.
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