Social engineering awareness in Intro to Computing - Interactive Code Practice

Practice - 5 Tasks

1fill in blank

easy

Complete the code to print a warning message about social engineering.

Intro to Computing

print("Beware of [1] attempts to steal your information!")

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Ahardware

Bsocial engineering

Cnetwork

Dsoftware

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Choosing technical terms like 'network' or 'hardware' instead of 'social engineering'.

The phrase 'social engineering' correctly completes the warning message about attempts to steal information by tricking people.

2fill in blank

medium

Complete the code to check if a message is a phishing attempt.

Intro to Computing

if 'urgent' in message and '[1]' in message:
    print('Possible phishing attempt detected')

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Apassword

Battachment

Clink

Dusername

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Choosing 'password' or 'attachment' which are less common in this context.

The word 'link' is often used in phishing messages to trick users into clicking malicious URLs.

3fill in blank

hard

Fix the error in the code that identifies a social engineering keyword.

Intro to Computing

keywords = ['password', 'urgent', 'account']
if '[1]' in keywords:
    print('Warning: social engineering keyword found')

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aurgent

Blink

Cemail

Dattachment

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Choosing words not in the list like 'link' or 'email'.

The word 'urgent' is in the keywords list and is a common social engineering keyword.

4fill in blank

hard

Fill both blanks to create a dictionary of social engineering tactics and their descriptions.

Intro to Computing

tactics = {
    'phishing': '[1]',
    'pretexting': '[2]'
}

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Asending fake emails to steal info

Bpretending to be someone else to get info

Chacking into computers

Dinstalling antivirus software

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Mixing up the descriptions or choosing unrelated options like 'hacking'.

'Phishing' means sending fake emails to steal information, and 'pretexting' means pretending to be someone else to get information.

5fill in blank

hard

Fill all three blanks to filter a list of messages containing social engineering keywords.

Intro to Computing

filtered = [msg for msg in messages if '[1]' in msg or '[2]' in msg or '[3]' in msg]

Drag options to blanks, or click blank then click option'

Aurgent

Bpassword

Caccount

Dnetwork

Attempts:

3 left

💡 Hint

Common Mistakes

Including 'network' which is not a typical social engineering keyword here.

The keywords 'urgent', 'password', and 'account' are common in social engineering messages and used to filter them.

Practice

1. What is the main goal of social engineering in computing?

easy

A. To trick people into giving private information

B. To hack computer software directly

C. To improve computer speed

D. To update antivirus software

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand social engineering basics

   Social engineering targets human behavior, not computer systems.

2. Step 2: Identify the goal of social engineering

   The goal is to trick people into revealing private or sensitive information.

3. Final Answer:

   To trick people into giving private information -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Social engineering = trick people [OK]

Hint: Social engineering targets people, not machines [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking it hacks software directly
• Confusing with computer viruses
• Assuming it improves hardware

2. Which of the following is a safe practice when receiving an unexpected email asking for your password?

easy

A. Verify the sender's identity before responding

B. Click the link in the email to update your password

C. Reply with your password immediately

D. Forward the email to all your contacts

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze email safety steps

   Never share passwords or click links without verifying the sender.

2. Step 2: Choose the safest action

   Verifying the sender's identity helps avoid falling for scams.

3. Final Answer:

   Verify the sender's identity before responding -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Verify sender before sharing info [OK]

Hint: Always verify who asks before sharing info [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Sharing passwords without checking
• Clicking suspicious links
• Forwarding suspicious emails

3. You receive a phone call from someone claiming to be from your bank asking for your account number. What should you do?

medium

A. Give the account number immediately to avoid problems

B. Ask the caller to send an email instead

C. Share your account number only if the caller sounds polite

D. Hang up and call the bank using the official number

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify safe response to suspicious calls

   Never share sensitive info over unexpected calls without verification.

2. Step 2: Verify caller by contacting bank directly

   Calling the bank using official contact ensures legitimacy.

3. Final Answer:

   Hang up and call the bank using the official number -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Verify caller by official contact [OK]

Hint: Always verify caller by official number [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Sharing info immediately
• Trusting caller tone
• Asking for email instead (may delay but not verify)

4. Identify the mistake in this scenario: A user receives an email asking to reset their password and clicks the link without checking the sender's email address.

medium

A. The user correctly reset the password

B. The user should have checked the sender's email address first

C. The user should have replied to the email

D. The user should have forwarded the email to IT support

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the user's action

   Clicking links without verifying sender can lead to phishing attacks.

2. Step 2: Identify the correct safe practice

   Checking the sender's email address helps confirm if the email is legitimate.

3. Final Answer:

   The user should have checked the sender's email address first -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Verify sender before clicking links [OK]

Hint: Check sender email before clicking links [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming all password reset emails are safe
• Replying to suspicious emails
• Forwarding without verifying

5. A company wants to train employees to avoid social engineering attacks. Which combination of actions is best to include in the training?

hard

A. Share passwords only with managers and never change them

B. Ignore all emails and calls from unknown sources

C. Verify identity before sharing info and report suspicious messages

D. Click links quickly to avoid delays and trust polite callers

Solution

1. Step 1: Evaluate safe practices for social engineering prevention

   Ignoring all unknown contacts is impractical; sharing passwords or clicking links quickly is unsafe.

2. Step 2: Identify best training actions

   Verifying identity before sharing info and reporting suspicious messages helps prevent attacks effectively.

3. Final Answer:

   Verify identity before sharing info and report suspicious messages -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Verify and report suspicious = safe training [OK]

Hint: Verify identity and report suspicious contacts [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Ignoring all unknown contacts
• Sharing passwords without checks
• Trusting callers based on tone