Social Engineering | What It Is and How to Prevent It
Detect.
Social Engineering
What It Is and How to Prevent It
Social engineering attacks are evolving faster than ever, exploiting trust, fear, and urgency to bypass even the strongest defences. These attacks target people, not systems, using deception to extract sensitive information or gain unauthorised access.
Protecting yourself and your organisation requires more than just technology – it demands awareness, vigilance, and proactive strategies to counter these human-focused threats. From phishing emails to pretexting, attackers are refining their techniques to exploit vulnerabilities in human behaviour.
Understanding these tactics is the first step to building a resilient defence against social engineering.
What is Social Engineering?
Exploring the Different Types
Social engineering is one of the most potent threats in today’s cyber security landscape. Unlike traditional cyber attacks that exploit software vulnerabilities, social engineering targets the most unpredictable element of any organisation’s defence: its people.
This deceptive technique manipulates individuals into revealing sensitive information or performing actions that compromise security.
There are multiple methods of social engineering that pose a risk to individuals and organisations >
Phishing
Attackers send fraudulent emails or messages that appear to be from trusted sources, tricking recipients into revealing sensitive information like passwords or clicking malicious links.
Baiting
Attackers lure victims with a promise of something enticing, like free downloads or gifts, to trick them into exposing their systems to malware or other security risks.
Pretexting
When an attacker creates a fabricated story or identity to manipulate victims into divulging confidential information or granting access to secure systems.
Tailgating or Piggybacking
Physical social engineering where an attacker gains unauthorised access to a secure area by following closely behind an authorised person.
Traditional Cyber Attacks vs Social Engineering
| External Penetration Testing |
|---|
| Targets systems, networks, software & hardware |
| Uses malware |
| Exploits technology |
| Leaves logs |
| Needs technological defences |
| Internal Penetration Testing |
|---|
| Targets people |
| Uses deception |
| Exploits psychology |
| Mimics normal behaviour |
| Needs human awareness |
Social Engineering Case Study - CyberLab Red Team
Tailgating into a Client's Office
During a Red Team engagement, the team conducted thorough reconnaissance to understand staff reactions to access requests and building entry protocols. Exploiting this knowledge, a team member, posing as an employee on a phone call, approached a side entrance used primarily for Cycle to Work traffic. Waiting for an employee to open the door, the team member tailgated inside. When questioned by a security guard, he flashed a fake pass from his pocket. The presence of this card, combined with the confident demeanour was enough to convince the guard to allow the team member access.
Inside, the team member followed an employee into a lift that required keycard access. By closely shadowing the employee and engaging in light conversation, he gained access to the lift and descended to the basement. Here, most lifts required keycard activation, but one lift did not. Testing it, he found it led directly to the main lobby beyond the security barriers. Coordinating with a colleague, they both used this lift to bypass the barriers.
At the main lobby, they noticed another lift with the desired floor selected. Joining an employee in this lift, they engaged in friendly conversation, further establishing their legitimacy. On reaching the floor, they followed the employee to an office door requiring keycard access. Mentioning the company name, they tricked the employee into letting them in. Inside, they found a coffee machine and various unlocked meeting rooms. Booking a meeting room for an hour provided them with a secure space to operate.
This exercise demonstrated how effective social engineering techniques, such as tailgating, confident interaction, and exploiting human trust, can bypass robust security measures and gain unauthorised access to sensitive areas. The client was subsequently informed of the successful infiltration, highlighting vulnerabilities in their security protocols so that they could take remedial action to harden the physical security protocols and policies and also educate their staff to be more vigilant.
Penetration Testing: The CyberLab Approach
Unmasking Deception: How Our Penetration Testing Process Tackles Social Engineering Threats
One of our CREST, CHECK, and Cyber Scheme certified consultants will work with you to define the scope of the engagement and ensure that our tests will fulfil your requirements.
Your assigned consultant will gather information on your organisation, including:
- IP addresses of websites and MX records
- Details of e-mail addresses
- Social networks
- People search
- Job search websites
This information will assist in identifying and exploiting any vulnerabilities or weaknesses.
Within the Threat Analysis stage we will identify a range of potential vulnerabilities within your target systems, which will typically involve a specialist engineer examining:
- Attack avenues, vectors, and threat agents
- Results from Research, Reconnaissance and Enumeration
- Technical system/network/application vulnerabilities
We will leverage automated tools and manual testing techniques at this stage.
Once we have identified vulnerabilities, we will attempt to exploit them in order to gain entry to the targeted system.
There are three phases to this stage:
Exploit – use vulnerabilities to gain access to a system, e.g. inject commands into an application that provide control over the target.
Escalate – attempt to use the exploited control over the target to increase access or escalate privileges to obtain further rights to the system, such as admin privileges.
Advance – attempt to move from the target system across the infrastructure to find other vulnerable systems (lateral movement) potentially using escalated privileges from target systems and attempting to gain further escalated privileges and access to the network.
Your Penetration Test Report will detail any identified threats or vulnerabilities, as well as our recommended remedial actions. Threats and vulnerabilities will be ranked in order of importance.
The report will also contain an executive summary and attack narrative which will explain the technical risks in business terms. Where required, we can arrange for your CyberLab engineer to present the report to the key stakeholders within your organisation.
The report will provide information on remedial actions required to reduce the threats and vulnerabilities that have been identified.
At this stage, we can provide you with the additional consultancy, products, and services to further improve your security posture.
“Once the testing phase was complete, CyberLab delivered the report quickly. A team from CyberLab, including a Senior Director, presented the results to senior executives at Nottingham City Council, answered questions and provided interpretation and context for the scores.”
– Mark Smith, Server Support Manager, Nottingham City Council
Why Choose CyberLab?
Thousands of organisations across the UK trust us, here’s why…
CREST & CHECK Accredited
We are certified for both CREST and CHECK Green Light testing - an achievement not all testing companies can claim.
CREST Infrastructure & Application Testing
We are certified in both CREST Infrastructure and Application testing, ensuring comprehensive security coverage for all your systems.
Experienced & Senior Consultants
Our team consists of highly experienced, senior consultants and penetration testers with over 15 years of industry expertise.
Outstanding Communication
We establish dedicated teams or Slack channels to ensure seamless two-way communication between project managers, testers, and your team throughout the entire project.
Clear and Concise Reports
We provide easy-to-understand reports with detailed findings and actionable recommendations.
Specialised Testing Teams
We have specialised teams for Cloud, Application, and API testing. Our app and API testers, who are former developers, communicate fluently with your development team, leveraging their coding expertise to deliver deeper, more effective testing.
We Save You Time and Money
Clients consistently tell us that we deliver higher-quality testing in less time.
Forward-Thinking Security
Our pen testing team goes beyond identifying vulnerabilities, offering proactive solutions to mitigate future risks and ensure your security evolves ahead of emerging threats.
Success Story
COP 26 Summit
Identity Events Management, the agency contracted to deliver the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), needed to ensure that their defences were secure for the conference.
‘We were delighted to be involved in the security testing surrounding the United Nations Climate Change Conference, and to work alongside Identity as they delivered hybrid event solution. At CyberLab, working securely from anywhere is ingrained in our company, and this event really encapsulated this new way of working and accessing events.’
– Gavin Wood, CEO, CyberLab
CREST, CHECK & Cyber Scheme Certified
CREST (the Council of Registered Ethical Security Testers) is an international accreditation with a strict Codes of Conduct and Ethics. CHECK is the Government-backed accreditation from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) which certifies that a company can conduct authorised penetration tests of public sector systems and networks.
All our penetration testers are certified by CREST, with senior consultants certified by CREST to the highest CCT Level. Our testers are also either CHECK Team Leaders (CTL’s) or Team Members (CTM’s).
Security testers that pass the Cyber Scheme exams demonstrate ‘competence and skill at the highest levels’ as defined by the National Technical Authority for Cyber Security (NCSC).
Our team have decades of combined experience and take pride in operating at the highest level of the industry – conducting a broad range of government and commercial tests – and always aim to go the extra mile.
Red Teaming vs Penetration Testing
| Red Team |
|---|
| We test systems simultaniously |
| We work to fluid, adaptable targets |
| Longer testing schedule |
| We don't tell your people what we're doing |
| Our testers will be creative and use any means necessary |
| Pen Test |
|---|
| We test systems independently |
| We define our targets before we start |
| Short term tests |
| Your people know what we're testing and when |
| Our testers use a suite of commercially available testing tools |
Speak With an Expert
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Whether you’re looking to implement basic cyber security best practice, improve your existing defences, or introduce a new system or solution, our team of expert consultants, engineers, and ethical hackers are here to help.
Our team specialise in creating bespoke security solutions and testing packages to improve and maintain your security posture.
We are 100% vendor agnostic and will only ever recommend the best products and solutions for your requirements.
If you like this, then take a look at…
Types of Penetration Test - What is the Difference?
12 Common Vulnerabilities Found During Penetration Testing
CyberLab Simulate Attack in front of Cyber Crime Police
