What is Social Engineering?
Social Engineering references the methods hackers employ to trick users into giving up sensitive information, whether it be by volunteering the information through an email, filling out a fraudulent web form, or downloading malware via an attachment or bad link. Social Engineering is how hackers get the user to behave as they want, usually through tricks.
How to Recognize This Threat: Users should look for email offers that are too good to be true, like a Nigerian Prince providing $1 million if he receives bank account information, or any email that asks to confirm a username, password, credit card, etc. They could be from official looking sources, but users should examine these messages closely and think twice before clicking links, downloading attachments, or sharing information.
How to Prevent This Threat: Vigilance among users is key, knowing how to recognize suspicious messages and not immediately acting without checking their veracity. A strong email security appliance, like the ones offered by Barracuda, can help keep many of these messages from getting through in the first place, while also protecting your network against a user making the wrong move.