Social Engineering

Social engineering has been present for so long in human societies where person(s) try to manipulate others for their own gain. The deceptive mechanisms tend to differ based on the final intent of the acquired information. A criminal need to be lucky once but the person being targeted needs to be vigilant and protected one hundred percent of the time. Social engineering for instance was used during World War II at the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 where the Germans were misled on time and place of the incursion, ultimately giving the allies a major advantage. Fast forward, with the creation of the Internet, social engineering has found itself online as well. With most activities now driven by the Internet, it is no surprise that there is a lot of concern in terms of security of information in different sectors of the economy. It is possible now to obtain information through social engineering from people that are not in the same geospatial location by using email, phones, and other social media techniques. In this digital war that all of us are fighting every day, there are a large number of people trying to steal personal data, and identification to commit fraud, and other financial crimes. The terms “phishing” and “spearphishing” are no longer nascent terms but real in the workplace. At the same time there are a large number of people that are still vulnerable however much awareness in terms of how to protect oneself is put out. Introducing social engineering at K-12 levels has never been more crucial. Some schools like Zapphire School of Informatics and Technology (http://www.zapphireinformatics.org) have a curriculum in place that teaches social engineering and various topics that are cyber-related. This book will cover the social engineering in the digital age, social engineering and security concerns, how to spot social engineering, and social engineering best practices. Students in K-12 should find the book informative and engaging. Available as a printed copy and ebook.