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Module 5~8 min

Building Security Awareness

Technology alone can't protect an organization -- people play a critical role too. This lesson looks at why security awareness matters.

What You'll Learn

  • Why human behavior matters in security
  • What social engineering is
  • How awareness reduces risk

People Are Part of the System

Many security incidents happen not because of a technical flaw, but because someone was tricked into taking an action that helped an attacker -- clicking a malicious link, for example.

Social Engineering

Social engineering describes manipulating people, rather than systems, to gain access or information. Awareness training helps people recognize and resist these attempts.

Example

A message pretending to be from a trusted source, urgently asking someone to reveal a password, is a classic social engineering attempt -- one that awareness training helps people recognize.

Key Concepts

Security AwarenessSocial EngineeringHuman Factor

Key Takeaways

  • People are a critical part of an organization's overall security
  • Social engineering manipulates people rather than systems
  • Awareness training helps people recognize and resist manipulation attempts

Knowledge Check

What does "social engineering" refer to?

What does "social engineering" refer to?