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Jane Is a newly appointed Chief Financial Officer at BigTech Corp. Within a week, she receives an email from a sender posing as the company's CEO. instructing her to make an urgent wire transfer. Suspicious. Jane decides to verify the request's authenticity. She receives another email from the same sender, now attaching a seemingly scanned Image of the CEO's handwritten note. Simultaneously, she gets a call from an 'IT support' representative, instructing her to click on the attached image to download a 'security patch'. Concerned. Jane must determine which social engineering tactics she encountered.
Jane encountered a combination of social engineering tactics:
Spear Phishing:
CEO Impersonation Email: The initial email and the follow-up with the scanned image of the CEO's handwritten note are examples of spear phishing, where attackers target specific individuals with tailored messages to gain their trust and extract sensitive information.
Vishing:
'IT Support' Call: The phone call from the supposed 'IT support' representative asking Jane to download a 'security patch' is a form of vishing (voice phishing). This tactic involves using phone calls to trick victims into revealing sensitive information or performing actions that compromise security.
Social Engineering Techniques: SANS Institute Reading Room
Phishing and Vishing Explained: Norton Security