CIPA Social Engineering & Phishing Attacks 2

Question 1

What is 'baiting' in social engineering attacks?

Accepted Answer

Leaving infected physical media such as USB drives where targets will find and use them

Answer

Baiting involves leaving malware-laden physical media (like USB drives) in places where targets will find them; curiosity leads victims to plug the device in, compromising their system.

Question 2

What is a 'watering hole' attack?

Accepted Answer

Compromising a website frequently visited by a target group to infect their systems

Answer

In a watering hole attack, criminals infect websites that their target audience regularly visits, exploiting the victims' trust in those familiar sites to deliver malware or steal credentials.

Question 3

What is 'whaling' in social engineering and phishing?

Accepted Answer

Targeted phishing attacks directed at high-level executives or decision-makers

Answer

Whaling targets high-value individuals such as CEOs, CFOs, or other executives whose credentials can enable large financial transfers or access to sensitive organizational data.

Question 4

What is 'clone phishing'?

Accepted Answer

Creating a near-identical copy of a legitimate email with malicious links replacing the originals

Answer

Clone phishing takes a legitimate previously delivered email, duplicates it with malicious links or attachments substituted for the originals, then resends it appearing to come from a trusted sender.

Question 5

What psychological principle do social engineers MOST commonly exploit to gain compliance?

Accepted Answer

Authority and urgency

Answer

Social engineers exploit authority (claiming to be from the IRS, FBI, or a bank) combined with urgency (threatening immediate consequences) to pressure victims into bypassing their critical thinking.

(CIPA) Certified Identity Protection Advisor Practice Test

(CIPA) Certified Identity Protection Advisor Practice Test

CIPA Social Engineering & Phishing Attacks 2