Tag Archive for: Humans

Hacking humans: Devious tricks attackers use to infiltrate via employees


When we hear the word “hacking” we typically imagine a hooded bad guy coding in a dark room, using cyber skills to breach technical systems and networks.

But what if we told you that 80-95% of all computer attacks begin with the hacking of a human being? That’s right, hacking human beings (a.k.a. social engineering) is usually “phase one” of any cyberattack. This doesn’t require so many technical skills but rather a clever understanding of how human nature responds to phishing lures.

What is Social Engineering? 

Social engineering is a technique used by threat actors to trick online users into revealing sensitive information (such as passwords) or convince them to perform an action (such as clicking a link) that ends up compromising an identity, a system or network.

While email phishing is probably the most popular form of social engineering, other forms are also on the rise such as smishing (SMS text phishing), quishing (QR code phishing), BEC (business email compromise), and vishing (voice phishing).

How Do Social Engineering Attacks Work?

Regardless of medium or method (email, voice, text) social engineering attacks are typically executed using the following steps:

1. Conducting Reconnaissance

Just like an investigator that surveys, monitors or observes a potential target — who they meet, where they spend time, where they live, etc., attackers too will often do background research on their targets.

This includes combing through social media profiles (checking their social media interactions, mentions and connections), learning about their colleagues, friends and family members; obtaining their contact information and finally using tools like open source intelligence (OSINT) to uncover vulnerable and exploitable assets that they can target or operationalize. 

2. Designing a Pretext

Just like in the old movie “The Talented Mr. Ripley” where a con-artist crafts a fake story to convince everyone that he’s the son of a shipping tycoon, attackers too will create situations or stories to dupe their targets. It can be anything from a discount code to an investment opportunity, from a “verify your email” notification to a notification highlighting…

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How deepfakes ‘hack the humans’ (and corporate networks)


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Once crude and expensive, deepfakes are now a rapidly rising cybersecurity threat.

A UK-based firm lost $243,000 thanks to a deepfake that replicated a CEO’s voice so accurately that the person on the other end authorized a fraudulent wire transfer. A similar “deep voice” attack that precisely mimicked a company director’s distinct accent cost another company $35 million.

Maybe even more frightening, the CCO of crypto company Binance reported that a “sophisticated hacking team” used video from his past TV appearances to create a believable AI hologram that tricked people into joining meetings. “Other than the 15 pounds that I gained during COVID being noticeably absent, this deepfake was refined enough to fool several highly intelligent crypto community members,” he wrote.

Cheaper, sneakier and more dangerous

Don’t be fooled into taking deepfakes lightly. Accenture’s Cyber Threat Intelligence (ACTI) team notes that while recent deepfakes can be laughably crude, the trend in the technology is toward more sophistication with less cost.

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In fact, the ACTI team believes that high-quality deepfakes seeking to mimic specific individuals in organizations are already more common than reported. In one recent example, the use of deepfake technologies from a legitimate company was used to create fraudulent news anchors to spread Chinese disinformation showcasing that the malicious use is here, impacting entities already. 

A natural evolution

The ACTI team believes that deepfake attacks are the logical continuation of social engineering. In fact, they should be considered together, of a piece, because the primary malicious potential of…

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World to make 1.37 billion smartphones in 2021 says IDC – about one for every six humans • The Register


1.37 billion smartphones will ship in 2021, says analyst firm IDC, and 570 million of them will be 5G-ready.

The company’s latest Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker predicts growth of 7.4 per cent to reach that colossal number, but also notes “2021 shipments have managed to display minimal growth compared to 2019 (pre-pandemic) volumes”.

Shipments of Apple devices are predicted to jump 13.8 per cent, with Androids growing by 6.2 per cent. Premium phones continue to be in demand, with shipments of kit priced at $1000 or more growing 116 per cent year-over-year compared to Q2 in 2020.

“The world’s largest markets – China, the United States, and Western Europe – will still be down from 2019, but growing markets such as India, Japan, the Middle East, and Africa are fueling the recovery,” IDC writes.

Punters want 5G and are willing to pay for it.

“5G shipments continue to be a primary driver of 2021 growth as both vendors and channels focus on 5G devices that carry a significantly higher average selling price (ASP) than older 4G devices,” the firm states.

The ASP of a 5G smartphone will therefore reach $634 in 2021 – up just a tick from 2020’s $632. Even at that price, shipments of 5G phones will grow by 123.4 per cent to 570 million.

“China will continue to lead the market with 47.1 per cent of the 5G global market share, followed by the USA at 16 per cent, India at 6.1 per cent, and Japan at 4.1 per cent,” IDC suggests. “By the end of 2022, 5G units are expected to make up more than half of all smartphone shipments with a 54.1 per cent share.”

4G phones are headed for the bargain basement, with ASP expected to land at $206 – almost 30 per cent down from 2020’s $277.

Earth’s human population is on track to hit around 7.9 billion in 2021. This year’s smartphone harvest therefore means there’s a new handset for about…

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Computers replace humans in assessing inmates – Cadtle Hills News

Computers replace humans in assessing inmates
Cadtle Hills News
The new Security Risk Assessment Tool, designed to assess "individuals who are considered to pose an unacceptable risk to the community", was quietly rolled out in September. A spokeswoman for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection said …

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