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Cited by 118Spam and Phishing DetectionInformation and Cyber SecurityUser Authentication and Security Systems

A Study on the Psychology of Social Engineering-Based Cyberattacks and Existing Countermeasures

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Siddiqi, Murtaza Ahmed, Pak, Wooguil, Siddiqi, Moquddam A.·2022·Applied Sciences
DOI 10.3390/app12126042
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Abstract

As cybersecurity strategies become more robust and challenging, cybercriminals are mutating cyberattacks to be more evasive. Recent studies have highlighted the use of social engineering by criminals to exploit the human factor in an organization’s security architecture. Social engineering attacks exploit specific human attributes and psychology to bypass technical security measures for malicious acts. Social engineering is becoming a pervasive approach used for compromising individuals and organizations (is relatively more convenient to compromise a human compared to discovering a vulnerability in the security system). Social engineering-based cyberattacks are extremely difficult to counter as they do not follow specific patterns or approaches for conducting an attack, making them highly effective, efficient, easy, and obscure approaches for compromising any organization. To counter such attacks, a better understanding of the attack tactics is highly essential. Hence, this paper provides an in-depth analysis of the approaches used to conduct social engineering-based cyberattacks. This study discusses human vulnerabilities employed by criminals in recent security breaches. Further, the paper highlights the existing approaches, including machine learning-based methods, to counter social engineering-based cyberattacks.

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Authors
Siddiqi, M. A., Pak, W., & Siddiqi, M. A.
Affiliations
  • University of Karachi (PK)
  • Yeungnam University (KR)
Corresponding author
Pak, Wooguil
ORCID
Venue
Applied Sciences
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2022-06-14
Volume
12
Issue
12
Pages
6042
ISSN
2076-3417 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/app12126042
OpenAlex
W4282920965
Cited by
118
References
69
Citations by year
2026: 24 · 2025: 35 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 4
FWCI
23.27
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Applied Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) (NRF-2022R1A2C1011774)
  • 2022 Yeungnam University (NRF-2022R1A2C1011774)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Spam and Phishing Detection
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Information and Cyber Security
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › User Authentication and Security Systems
Keywords
social engineering, cyberattacks, human factors in security, human vulnerability, offensive strategy, countermeasures, machine learning detection, security breaches, psychological manipulation

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