Personal contact information such as employee titles and phone numbers can be appropriated from discarded phone books or directories and used to gain further technical information such as login data and security passwords. Information retrieved from discarded property allows social hackers to create effective profiles of their targets. Sifting through garbage is a popular tactic for social hackers to recover information about the habits, activities, and interactions of organizations and individuals. Three popular methods of attack include dumpster diving, role playing, and spear-phishing. However, while awareness helps reduce the volume of hacks being carried out, technology has allowed for attack tools to become more sophisticated.Ĭarrying out a social hacking attack involves looking for weaknesses in user behaviour that can be exploited through seemingly legitimate means. The technique can be used in multiple ways that affect public perception and conversely, increase public awareness of social hacking activity. Social hacking is most commonly associated as a component of “ social engineering”.Īlthough the practice involves exercising control over human behaviour rather than computers, the term "social hacking" is also used in reference to online behaviour and increasingly, social media activity. Social hackers take great measures to present overtones of familiarity and trustworthiness to elicit confidential or personal information. This is done through pre-meditated research and planning to gain victims’ confidence. Most often, social hacking attacks are achieved by impersonating an individual or group who is directly or indirectly known to the victims or by representing an individual or group in a position of authority. The general function of social hacking is to gain access to restricted information or to a physical space without proper permission. Social hacking describes the act of attempting to manipulate outcomes of social behaviour through orchestrated actions. Attempt to manipulate outcomes of social behavior through orchestrated actions
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