Computer rendering of a woman with her face being added to the picture. A deepfake is a type of synthetic or manipulated content (audio, images or video) that is not real, but looks realistic. The FBI reported that attackers are using voice deepfakes to attend remote job interviews. (Photo: mike/Adobe Stock)

In a vast majority of cyberattacks and breaches, social engineering attacks continue to be a leading attack vector. According to the FBI, last year businesses lost nearly $7 billion due to scams and social engineering.

Why social engineering?

As human beings, we are susceptible to errors of judgment and biases. Cybercriminals leverage psychological weaknesses to steal identities, data and personal information. What's more, manipulating a person is much easier than hacking systems or exploiting software vulnerabilities. Hacking systems requires a deep understanding of technology, while hacking people only takes an understanding of basic social psychology.

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