Not every cyberattack begins with complex code or brute force. Often, the easiest way into your organisation isn’t through your systems, it’s through your people.
Social engineering attacks exploit human nature, not technical flaws. They manipulate trust, urgency, and fear to get users to take actions they normally wouldn’t like clicking a malicious link or sending sensitive information to someone pretending to be their boss.
These types of attacks are on the rise, and they’re getting smarter. This article will help you understand how social engineering works, why it’s so effective, and most importantly, what you can do to protect your business.
Awareness and good habits reduce the risks from social engineering
A Few Small Actions = Big Risk Reduction
Social engineering is dangerous because it looks ordinary. But once you know what to look for and have the right checks in place, it becomes much easier to avoid.
By building awareness, verifying requests, and reinforcing good habits, you can drastically reduce your exposure to one of the most common attack methods businesses face today.
Understanding the Psychology Behind Social Engineering
The success of social engineering hinges on our natural instincts — especially our tendency to trust familiar-looking communications or act quickly when something feels urgent.
Cybercriminals know this, and they use psychological tactics to push people into making split-second decisions. Some of the most common techniques include:
Authority
The attacker impersonates someone senior — a director, finance lead, or external partner and sends a message that feels too important to question. It might say something like:
“Transfer this now and confirm once done.”
Urgency
You’re told something needs to happen immediately, and any delay will cause damage or disruption. These messages can look like:
“Your account will be suspended in 10 minutes. Click here to verify.”
Fear
Fear creates compliance. These messages may reference a data breach or legal issue to cause panic:
“Unusual login activity detected — act now to secure your account.”
Greed
You’re offered a reward or incentive in exchange for an action:
“Claim your free £50 gift card by clicking this link.”
These approaches are dangerous because they often look like normal business communication making them hard to spot without training or experience.
How to Defend Against Social Engineering Attacks
You don’t need to invest in complex tech to lower your risk. Some of the best defences are simple processes that involve your people, not just your software.
Raise Awareness
Make sure your team understands the signs of social engineering. Train them to recognise suspicious language, unexpected requests, and emotional triggers like panic or urgency.
Promote a ‘Think Before You Click’ Culture
Encourage your staff to pause and review before responding to any unexpected message, especially those involving money, login details or sensitive information.
Verify, Always
If something seems off, verify it through a trusted method — a quick call to a known number, or a direct Teams message to the supposed sender.
Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
MFA is one of the easiest ways to reduce risk. Even if a password is compromised, MFA can block unauthorised access.
Encourage Reporting
Create a culture where it’s safe and encouraged to flag anything suspicious. Early reporting often prevents wider impact.
Need Help Protecting Your Team?
Nexus works with organisations across England and Wales to implement simple, effective cybersecurity solutions that protect people and data, without slowing your business down.
Areas where we can help:
- Awareness training
- Phishing simulations
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- Email security
- Ongoing user support
Get in touch with our team today to book a free, no-obligation consultation. Let’s make sure your business is protected, not just technically, but humanly too.