2.2. Types of social engineering attacks
Social engineering attacks are multifaceted and include
physical, social and technical aspects, which are used in
different stages of the actual attack. This subsection aims to
explain the different approaches attackers use.
2.2.1. Physical approaches
As the name implies, physical approaches are those where the
attacker performs some form of physical action in order to
gather information on a future victim. This can range from
personal information (such as social security number, date of
birth) to valid credentials for a computer system. An often-
used method is
dumpster diving
(
Granger, 2001
), i.e., searching
through an organization
'
s trash. A dumpster can be a valuable
source of information for attackers, who may find personal
data about employees, manuals, memos and even print-outs
of sensitive information, such as user credentials. If an