Other Social Engineering Attacks - CompTIA Security+ SY0-701 - 2.2

Understanding Misinformation and Social Engineering Techniques

The Nature of Misinformation

• Misinformation is defined as factually incorrect information designed to divide or confuse groups, differing from mere opinion.

• Influence campaigns often utilize social media to spread misinformation related to political or social issues, sometimes orchestrated by foreign governments.

• These campaigns aim to distract from damaging truths about the nation state behind them, using various online platforms for dissemination.

Mechanisms of Dissemination

• Attackers create fake user accounts on social media to post misleading content, amplifying their reach through likes and shares.

• Once misinformation is posted, algorithms promote it further based on engagement metrics like shares and likes, leading to wider visibility among actual users.

• As misinformation gains traction, mass media may pick up the story, inadvertently legitimizing false narratives that originated online.

Exploiting Brand Recognition

• Another technique involves creating numerous impersonated websites using recognizable brand names (e.g., Coca-Cola, McDonald's).

• Search engines index these sites; unsuspecting users searching for legitimate brands may be redirected to these fraudulent sites.