Of KP and cybersecurity

In an era where technology shapes nearly every aspect of our daily lives, cybercriminals have found increasingly sophisticated ways to exploit humanity’s digital advancements for their social engineering attacks.

- FIL C. SIONIL

Social engineering, which preys on human psychology to deceive individuals into divulging confidential information, has evolved significantly with the rise of big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and social media.

Yes, Virginia, the growing and widespread use of technology has allowed malicious individuals to elevate their schemes, making them appear more legitimate and these attacks even harder to detect and prevent.

A case in point is the message received by a former colleague in the journ industry who has jumped to the other fence of the lucrative public relations business: award-winning chairman of PageOne, Ron Jabal. It alerted him that his “credit card points will expire in 4 hours. You will lose your chance to get 1,200 pesos cashback. Redeem your gift now: https:// banka-bdo.mom.ph Redemption code LSEND-3899”

The message was outright “suspicious” simply because Ron doesn’t have a BDO credit card. Additionally, the link, on close scrutiny, is altogether dubious. But what’s scarier is that the SMS appears convincingly authentic as it “came from the legit BDO message/text blast facility.”

That’s right, hackers and attackers can now deploy largescale email and SMS phishing campaigns that can appear convincingly authentic. The automation of phishing campaigns is another technological advancement aiding social engineering.