Social engineering awareness in Intro to Computing - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Identifying Social Engineering Techniques

Which of the following is NOT a common social engineering technique?

A Using a brute force attack to guess passwords

B Pretexting by pretending to be someone trustworthy

C Phishing emails that trick users into revealing passwords

D Tailgating to gain physical access to restricted areas

💡 Hint

Think about whether the technique involves manipulating people or computers.

Brute force attacks target computer systems directly, not people. Social engineering relies on tricking people.

❓ trace

intermediate

Trace the Outcome of a Phishing Email Scenario

Imagine a user receives an email asking to reset their password by clicking a link. The link leads to a fake website. What is the most likely outcome if the user enters their password?

A The password is safely updated on the real website

B The password is stolen by attackers through the fake website

C The user receives a confirmation email from their company

D The user's computer automatically blocks the fake website

💡 Hint

Consider what happens when you enter sensitive info on a fake site.

Entering the password on a fake site sends it directly to attackers, compromising security.

❓ identification

advanced

Identify the Red Flags in a Social Engineering Call

A caller claims to be from IT support and asks for your login details to fix an urgent problem. Which of these is a red flag indicating a social engineering attempt?

A The caller uses your real name and department

B The caller provides a company phone number

C The caller offers to send a follow-up email

D The caller insists on immediate action without verification

💡 Hint

Think about what trustworthy support staff would or wouldn't do.

Legitimate IT support never asks for passwords or forces immediate action without verification.

❓ Comparison

advanced

Compare Social Engineering and Technical Hacking

Which statement best explains the difference between social engineering and technical hacking?

A Both rely only on guessing passwords without user interaction

B Social engineering targets software vulnerabilities; technical hacking targets people

C Social engineering tricks people to gain access; technical hacking exploits computer weaknesses

D Technical hacking uses phone calls; social engineering uses malware

💡 Hint

Think about who or what each method tries to fool or attack.

Social engineering manipulates people, while technical hacking attacks systems directly.

🚀 Application

expert

Designing a Defense Against Social Engineering

You are tasked with improving your company's defense against social engineering attacks. Which of the following measures is most effective?

A Training employees to recognize and report suspicious requests

B Blocking all emails from unknown senders

C Using complex passwords that change monthly

D Installing the latest antivirus software on all computers

💡 Hint

Consider what helps people avoid being tricked.

Employee training empowers people to spot and stop social engineering attempts, which target human behavior.