Internet Society Ghana Chapter

4/25/2019

Africa, Ghana, AITI-KACE (Advance Information Technology Institute- Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence), Accra, Ghana

There is a common misconception that cyber criminals use only highly advanced tools andtechniques to hack into people’s computers or accounts. This is simply not 1. Cyber-criminals have learnt that the easiest way to steal information, hack accounts, or infect asystem is by simply tricking users into making a mistake. This is known as socialengineering or human hacking. Social engineering is the term used to describe the ‘art’ of psychological trickery, themanipulation of behavior often through deception to influence unsuspecting users, tounwittingly divulge sensitive information which can be used to gain access to the targetscomputer systems and perform actions that cause harm to the confidentiality, integrity, oravailability of the computer system. Using a variety of media, includingemails, social media and phone calls, these social engineers manipulate any individual’sinnate desires (e.g. friendship, romance, greed) by building a trust relationship with thetarget; and, then exploiting that relationship to gain access to sensitive information thatshould not be disclosed and shared under normal conditions. Technology on its own is therefore not a sufficient safeguard against information theft; usersare often the weak link in an information security system. Staff members can be influenced todivulge sensitive information which subsequently allow unauthorized individuals to gainaccess to protected systems. To prove this point, the 2015 report of a study by Vormetricshows that human error is the cause of 90% of cyber breaches. The main objectives of this half-day workshop are to provide participants with a deepunderstanding of social engineering attack (human hacking), how it works so that they canview it as any other serious attack method, and what they can do to protect themselves andtheir organizations. The workshop will also expose young women to the career opportunities in IT especially regarding cybersecurity as they will learn about it from experts and  also open them to mentorship opportunities.