Social Engineering: The Human Weak Link in Cybersecurity

13 Aug 2025

Social Engineering: The Human Weak Link in Cybersecurity

Social engineering is a huge and common problem in today’s interconnected business landscape, with also unfortunately a lot of the issues or incidents swept under the carpet and kept quiet. Irrelevant or the potential perceptions of this type of incident happening to a business, declaring and discussing it especially within your industry for awareness is key. Cybersecurity isn’t just about firewalls and encryption etc, it’s about people.

Social engineering exploits human psychology to bypass even the strongest technical defences. Whether you're a global enterprise or a local SME, your team could be your greatest vulnerability if left untrained.

This blog explores what social engineering is, the most common attack types, and real-world examples of how even smart businesses fall victim and what it costs them.

What Is Social Engineering?

Social engineering is a form of manipulation where attackers trick individuals into revealing confidential information, granting access, or performing actions that compromise security. It relies on deception, urgency and trust, rather than technical or system hacking.

In simple terms: instead of hacking your system, they hack your people.

Common Types of Social Engineering Attacks

Attack Type	Description
Phishing	Fraudulent emails trick users into clicking links, downloading malware, or sharing info.
Spear Phishing	Targeted phishing at specific individuals (e.g. CFO, HR) using personal or company data.
Vishing	Voice phishing, attackers impersonate support staff, banks, or IT teams over the phone.
Smishing	SMS-based phishing using urgent messages or fake alerts.
Pretexting	Attacker invents a believable scenario to justify a request (e.g., impersonating a vendor).
Baiting	Using fake rewards or downloads to lure users into compromising their device or credentials.
Quid Pro Quo	Offering help or services in exchange for information (e.g., fake IT support).
Tailgating	Gaining physical access to secure areas by following authorised personnel.

Real-World Examples by Business Size

Corporate Case – SME (Small/Medium Enterprise)

Scenario: A regional accounting firm received an email seemingly from their cloud provider, requesting a login to update billing info.
What Happened: The finance officer entered credentials on a fake portal. Within an hour, client data was exfiltrated via Microsoft 365 and access was sold on the dark web.
Consequence: ICO investigation, loss of client trust, and £18,000 in incident response and recovery costs.

Enterprise Case – Global Logistics Company

Scenario: A senior HR executive received a spear phishing email posing as the CEO, requesting urgent payroll changes before a public holiday.
What Happened: The attacker tricked HR into updating bank details for executive salaries.
Consequence: Over £600,000 was diverted to offshore accounts before it was detected. Internal audit revealed gaps in approval workflows and MFA policy.

Corporate Case – International Law Firm

Scenario: A threat actor posing as a well-known client called the front desk, asking to speak to the firm's "new IT contractor."
What Happened: Under pressure, reception transferred the call. The attacker convinced IT to reset a user password.
Consequence: Internal case files and sensitive legal documents were accessed. The breach triggered major reputational damage and regulatory fines under GDPR.

Why Social Engineering Works

Human trust is hardwired, attackers exploit authority, familiarity, or urgency.
Employees often prioritise productivity over security.
Attackers use public data (e.g., LinkedIn, corporate websites) to craft convincing messages.
Hybrid work environments make it harder to verify authenticity in real-time.

Consequences of Social Engineering

Risk Area	Potential Impact
Data Breach	Client and internal data exposed
Financial Fraud	Invoice redirection, payroll fraud
Regulatory Penalties	GDPR, PCI-DSS, or NIS2 non-compliance
Business Disruption	Ransomware or malware post-exploitation
Reputational Harm	Loss of client and stakeholder trust
Insurance & Legal Costs	Rising cyber premiums or uncovered liabilities

How to Protect Your Business from Social Engineering

Run regular cybersecurity awareness training (not just once a year)
Implement MFA on all key systems
Use simulated phishing tests to evaluate readiness
Define clear internal protocols for financial transactions and password resets
Encourage a “stop and verify” culture, it’s okay to challenge suspicious requests
Limit public-facing information about staff roles and emails

Bottom Line

Your people are your first line of defence, or your weakest link.

Social engineering remains one of the most effective attack vectors because it targets human behaviour, not systems. But with regular training, strong policies, and clear processes, your team can become a powerful shield against cyber threats.

How LoughTec Can Help

At LoughTec, we help organisations of all sizes strengthen their defences with:

Continuous security awareness training
Phishing simulations
Policy and incident response development
24/7 SOC monitoring and threat containment

Let’s stop social engineering before it costs you time, money and your reputation.
👉 Contact us today for a free cybersecurity readiness check.

LoughTec are cyber security experts, if you want to find out more on how LoughTec can help protect your business in many ways, see some further recommended information and options below.

Click to find out more about h ow much a cyber attack could potentially cost your business .

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Click to find out more about Staff Cyber Security Awareness Training.

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