Strategies to Prevent IT Infrastructure from Social Engineering Attacks

SecOps teams of all enterprises, irrespective of their size, type, and industry, should have an effective security posture to protect their IT infrastructure from social engineering attacks.

Modern enterprises need to have a multi-layered cybersecurity approach that includes staff awareness and robust tools to secure the business network. Cybercriminals execute social engineering attacks by exploiting the weakest link in the security chain, which is the workforce, to infiltrate the business network. These malicious actors have become sophisticated to easily identify the users with privileged access and steal sensitive information. Enterprises need to be very vigilant and defend the entire IT infrastructure with efficiency.

Here are a few ways that CISOs can consider preventing social engineering attacks:

Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Organizations that depend on one factor to secure the account will not suffice the needs of modern IT infrastructure. It is a very easy task for malicious actors these days to steal credentials. Privileged account credentials are available on underground networks for sale that cybercriminals can leverage to infiltrate the business network. The increasing sophistication of these threat actors has made password security obsolete to protect sensitive business information. Moreover, attackers use social engineering attacks as a vector to steal user credentials and access the business network. Integrating Multi-Factor Authentication into the workflows will strengthen the security postures against all the potential social engineering attack threats.

Also Read: Cybersecurity in 2022 – Addressing the Barriers to Passwordless Authentication

Constantly track the critical IT assets

CISOs should consider identifying all the critical assets and set effective security postures and tools that monitor the IT infrastructure in real time. When cybercriminals deploy vectors like Trojans, they rely on vulnerable systems that can be exploited. Businesses can implement advanced web application scanning tools to scan both the internal and external systems to identify vulnerabilities in the enterprise tech stack. SecOps teams can execute social engineering engagement evaluation strategies to assess whether the workforce could fall victim to social engineering attacks.

Validate the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate

It is crucial to encrypt sensitive data, emails, and interactions that the attacker can intercept to steal sensitive information stored. Enterprises that obtain Secure Sockets Layer certificates from a valid source will help to encrypt the data. Validating the SSL certificates will enable enterprises to determine if the website that asks for sensitive information is secure or not.

Implement an advanced cloud-based Web Application Firewall (WAF)

Most enterprises today have a firewall integrated into the security posture, but upgrading it with a cloud-based web application firewall will help to strengthen the security of the IT infrastructure against social engineering attacks.

Organizations need to have the best threat detection tools that consistently track a web application or website to identify suspicious activity. Even if the social engineering attacks depend on human errors, WAF will block attacks and notifies the SecOpsteams to find all the malware installed. Integrating risk-based web application firewalls will enable enterprises to prevent such attacks and other potential data breaches.

Also Read: Four Best Practices for Securing APIs from Data Breaches and Attacks

Validate the email senders’ identity

Many cybercriminals steal sensitive data and credentials by pretending to be authorized entities. When malicious actors leverage a phishing attack as a vector, they send email messages that appear like they are sent from a legit and trusted source. Cyber attackers send compelling phishing emails that provoke the user to click and gain access to the business network. Organizations need to educate their workforce to identify potential social engineering threats and implement tools to validate the sender’s identity.