CVA Social Engineering & Physical Security Testing Flashcards

Which metric is most useful for reporting the effectiveness of a social engineering campaign during a vulnerability assessment?

Answer: Click rate, credential submission rate, and reporting rate by employees

Click rate, credential submission rate, and reporting rate together measure both employee susceptibility and awareness, providing actionable metrics for security training programs.

What is 'spear phishing' and how does it differ from regular phishing?

Answer: Spear phishing is highly targeted at specific individuals using personalized information, while regular phishing is sent broadly

Spear phishing uses personalized details (name, role, recent activities) gathered through OSINT to craft convincing targeted attacks, unlike bulk phishing sent to many recipients without personalization.

During a social engineering assessment, what is the purpose of testing an organization's 'clean desk policy' compliance?

Answer: To determine if sensitive documents, credentials, or access devices are left unattended and accessible to unauthorized persons

Testing clean desk policy compliance identifies whether sensitive materials like passwords written on notes, confidential documents, or unlocked workstations are left accessible to unauthorized individuals.

What is 'shoulder surfing' in the context of a physical security assessment?

Answer: Observing someone entering credentials, PINs, or reading sensitive information from over their shoulder or from a distance

Shoulder surfing involves directly observing a target entering passwords, PINs, or reading sensitive information from their screen, exploiting physical proximity.

When documenting a social engineering assessment, which element is critical to include in the report to help the organization improve?

Answer: Attack vectors used, success rates, specific failure points, and recommended security awareness training actions

Effective social engineering reports detail attack methods, success metrics, where and why employees failed, and specific recommendations to improve security culture and awareness training.

Which physical access control provides the strongest resistance to unauthorized entry for a high-security server room?

Answer: Multi-factor physical authentication combining biometrics, PIN, and access card

Multi-factor physical authentication requiring biometrics, a PIN, and an access card provides layered security that defeats individual control bypasses like cloned cards or stolen PINs.