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Difficulty: Very hardSocial Engineering and Threat Types

During a security incident investigation at a healthcare facility, a systems administrator reviews badge logs and phone records following an unauthorized network intrusion. The report identifies two related occurrences:

1. An unauthorized individual entered a restricted server room by closely following behind a credentialed facility engineer who had swiped an access card to unlock the door.
2. Shortly after physical access was gained, several department managers received urgent telephone calls from an attacker posing as the Chief Information Officer (CIO). The caller created a fake emergency scenario regarding a network outage and persuaded the managers to dictate their active multi-factor authentication (MFA) verification codes over the call.

Which of the following social engineering threat vectors and physical security violations occurred during this incident? (Select TWO.)

  1. Tailgating, by closely following an authorized employee into a secured physical area without presenting proper authenticationAnswer
  2. Vishing, by using phone communications and impersonation to trick victims into revealing sensitive authentication codesAnswer
  3. C
    Spear phishing, by sending targeted email messages containing malicious links to high-level corporate executives
  4. D
    Shoulder surfing, by physically looking over an employee's shoulder to secretly observe credentials typed on a keyboard
  5. E
    Dumpster diving, by searching through unredacted trash bins and disposal receptacles for sensitive written documents

Answer

The threat vectors executed during the security incident are tailgating and vishing.
Tailgating is demonstrated when the unauthorized actor gains physical server room entry by following closely behind a credentialed engineer without swiping their own badge. Vishing is demonstrated when the attacker utilizes interactive phone calls, impersonation (pretexting as the CIO), and an urgent scenario to solicit sensitive MFA codes from staff.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the physical access portion of the scenario.
The intruder gained entry to a restricted area by following behind an authorized engineer holding open a door without authenticating independently.
This physical access breach method is explicitly defined as tailgating (or piggybacking).
2
Analyze the digital/social interaction portion of the scenario.
The attacker placed phone calls while impersonating an executive to convince managers to disclose MFA codes verbally.
Social engineering conducted over telephone calls is classified as vishing (voice phishing).

Key Concept

Social Engineering Attacks and Physical Entry Exploitation
Estimated Time:2m 0s
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Topics

Social Engineering and Threat Types

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