How can you protect yourself from social engineering?

Verifying the identity of all individuals is a crucial step in protecting yourself from social engineering attacks. Social engineering relies on manipulating individuals into divulging confidential information or performing actions that compromise security. By confirming who you are communicating with, whether it’s through phone calls, emails, or in-person interactions, you can thwart attempts by malicious actors who impersonate trusted sources.

This practice is essential because social engineers often use deception to create a false sense of trust, which can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive information. For example, if someone claiming to be from IT requests sensitive data or passwords, verifying their credentials directly with your organization can help ensure that you are not falling victim to a scam.

In contrast, sharing personal information freely undermines your security and could grant social engineers the very data they need to execute successful attacks. Ignoring unknown calls can be a reasonable strategy, but it's not foolproof—legitimate communications can sometimes come from unfamiliar numbers. Lastly, while using random passwords is important for securing accounts, it does not prevent social engineering attacks, which often exploit human behavior rather than technical vulnerabilities. Therefore, verification remains a key countermeasure against these types of attacks.