This lesson explains how attackers combine psychology and network capabilities to scale and automate social engineering using computers, networks, and digital media. It covers attack surfaces, the high-level attack chain, real-world examples, detection and defensive strategies, deepfake considerations, and a checklist for remediation.
Computer-Based Social Engineering — The Keyboard Is the New Con Man "If human social engineering is a con man at a cocktail party, computer-based social engineering is that same con man with a phishing kit, a voice changer, and a botnet on speed dial." You already learned how influenc...
What is computer-based social engineering? (Short answer) Computer-based social engineering uses computers, software, networks, and digital media as the primary delivery and amplification mechanisms for manipulative attacks. Instead of a smooth-talking person in a lobby, the attacker leverages em...
The attack surface: channels and flavors Phishing / Spear-phishing : mass vs targeted email/social platform messages. Spear-phishing uses OSINT to personalize the bait. Malicious attachments & links : payload delivery via docs, macros, JS, or spoofed login pages. Credential-stuffing and b...
Attack chain (high-level) Reconnaissance (OSINT, compromised datasets, social graphs) Weaponization (crafting emails, building fake domains, generating media) Delivery (email, web, SMS, voice) Exploitation (click, credential entry, code execution) Installation / Persistence (malware, OAut...
Real-world examples and micro-stories A finance team receives an email from a CEO-sounding address. The message is short, urgent, and instructs a wire transfer. The attacker used a spoofed domain and a one-line deepfake voice call later to confirm the request. Result: millions redirected. An em...
Detection and defensive strategies (builds on encrypted traffic analysis) Let us be pragmatic: you cannot stop all cunning. But you can raise the attacker cost and detect anomalies early. Network-level controls (where sniffing knowledge helps) Monitor DNS queries for unusual domains, bursts o...
Human + tech (training but smarter) Train staff with simulated phishing that mirrors real threats, then debrief with contextual examples. Teach employees to verify unusual transactional requests through an out-of-band channel you define (not just a ‘reply all’). Deepfakes: special considerati...
Quick comparison: human vs computer-based (cheat-sheet) Dimension Human-based Computer-based Scale Low (1:1) High (1:many) Stealth Relies on voice/body Relies on obfuscation & automation Speed Slow social engineering Fast, automated, persistent Detectability Beha...
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