2.2 Other Social Engineering Attacks

Misinformation/Disinformation

Are social engineering techniques used to spread factually incorrect information to confuse, divide, or manipulate groups of people. Unlike differences of opinion, these tactics involve deliberately false details.

• Influence campaigns are often orchestrated by governments or nation-states, aim to sway public opinion on political or social issues. These campaigns can distract from damaging truths or convince people to believe false narratives.

• Social media platforms are often used as powerful tools for disseminating misinformation, where creating, sharing, and amplifying content can significantly influence public perception.

How It Starts

• Begins with the attacker creating fake user accounts on social media, which are not real people but controlled by the attacker.

• Using one of these fake accounts, the attacker posts misleading or false content.

• Social media platforms provide options like "like," "share," or "follow," which allow the attacker to amplify the message.

• As the post gains likes and shares, social media algorithms recognize its popularity and show it to more users, leading to further sharing.

• Once the misinformation spreads widely enough, mass media may pick up on it, inadvertently promoting a false narrative that originated with the attacker.

Brand Impersonation

Attackers pretending to be well-known brands, like Coca-Cola, McDonald's, or Apple.

• Create fake/similar sites

• These sites are designed to get indexed by search engines like Google, often tricking users into clicking on ads or receiving messages through platforms like WhatsApp.

• Once visitors are on the site, they are typically presented with pop-ups claiming they've won a special offer, prompting them to download a video.

• Common method for spreading malware, and it often leads to infections, data exfiltration, or tracking through malicious ads on the site.

Fries

Fries