Testing the Human Element

Service Overview

While technology plays a crucial role in cybersecurity, human behaviour remains one of the most exploitable attack surfaces. Social engineering bypasses technical defences by manipulating trust, authority, and urgency, allowing attackers to infiltrate organisations through employees, contractors, and third-party partnerships.

SilentGrid’s Social Engineering Services simulate real-world manipulation tactics to assess how well your workforce recognises, defends against, and responds to these threats. By targeting human vulnerabilities, our engagements strengthen awareness, improve response protocols, and reduce the risk of successful social engineering campaigns.

Why Social Engineering

People Are the Weakest Link

Even with advanced endpoint detection and firewalls, adversaries exploit human psychology to bypass defences, gain access to credentials, and infiltrate sensitive systems. One click, one conversation, or one misplaced credential can undermine an entire security architecture.

• 85% of breaches involve the human element (Verizon DBIR 2023).
• Phishing remains the primary delivery vector for ransomware and credential harvesting.
• AI-driven social engineering techniques are increasing the success rate of phishing, vishing, and impersonation attacks.

SilentGrid’s Social Engineering Services

SilentGrid replicates real-world attack scenarios, exposing employees to the same tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by adversaries. Each engagement is tailored to your organisation, reflecting specific threat landscapes, industry risks, and target profiles.

Simulated Social Engineering Techniques

1. Phishing (Email-Based Attacks)

   • Simulated phishing campaigns targeting individuals, departments, or executive teams.
   • Realistic business email compromise (BEC) scenarios impersonating vendors, executives, or internal departments.
   • Spear phishing and whaling targeting high-value employees with personalised attacks.
   • Malware-laden attachments, credential harvesting, and account takeover simulations.

2. Vishing (Voice-Based Attacks)

   • Simulated voice phishing calls impersonating IT, HR, or management to extract credentials or bypass security policies.
   • Executive impersonation and fraudulent vendor interactions.
   • Scenarios testing user verification procedures and escalation protocols.

3. Smishing (SMS Phishing)

   • SMS-based attacks leveraging fake delivery notifications, account alerts, or urgent financial requests.
   • Credential harvesting through links to malicious websites or fake login portals.

4. Tailgating and Physical Security Testing

   • Testing physical security by attempting unauthorised entry into secure areas.
   • Badge cloning, employee impersonation, and social engineering at access points.

5. Baiting (Physical Media Attacks)

   • Deployment of infected USB drives, rogue access points, or free downloads disguised as legitimate services.
   • Testing employee response to incentives or curiosity-based lures.

AI-Driven Social Engineering – Next-Generation Threats

Advancements in AI have transformed social engineering, making attacks more convincing, scalable, and difficult to detect. SilentGrid leverages and simulates AI-driven tactics to prepare organisations for the future of social engineering.

Key AI Techniques Simulated by SilentGrid

• AI-Generated Phishing Campaigns

  • Highly personalised phishing emails, free of grammatical errors, tailored to individuals or teams.
  • Dynamic email generation that adapts in real-time, bypassing traditional spam filters and detection tools.

• Deepfake Vishing and Impersonation

  • Voice cloning to impersonate executives, IT staff, or vendors during vishing calls.
  • Realistic audio or video manipulation, fooling employees into granting access or transferring funds.

• Automated Reconnaissance and Social Profiling

  • AI tools gather public information from social media, company websites, and forums to build convincing attack profiles.
  • Automated profiling to mimic employee writing styles, making phishing emails indistinguishable from real communication.

• Fake Social Media Accounts and Engagement

  • AI-generated profiles interacting with employees for weeks or months before launching attacks.
  • Long-term engagement, building trust through realistic conversations and business contexts.

Why Choose SilentGrid?

SilentGrid’s social engineering assessments are research-driven, highly realistic, and designed to expose weaknesses in both employee awareness and procedural gaps. We continuously refine our techniques to reflect the latest attacker methodologies and emerging AI-driven threats.

• Realistic Campaigns – Simulations reflect current attack trends, threat actor behaviours, and industry-specific risks.
• Customisable Engagements – Scenarios are tailored to your organisation’s risk profile, focusing on high-risk teams, executive targets, or general awareness.
• Actionable Results – Detailed reporting provides practical steps to improve user awareness, refine policies, and enhance incident response.

Deliverables

SilentGrid provides comprehensive post-engagement reporting that allows organisations to identify vulnerabilities, track improvements, and build targeted awareness programs.

• Engagement Summary – Overview of campaigns, techniques used, and overall performance.
• User Susceptibility Metrics – Breakdown of who engaged, clicked, or provided credentials.
• Detailed Incident Analysis – Documentation of successful attacks, exposed vulnerabilities, and remediation recommendations.
• Tailored Awareness Material – Custom training to address identified weaknesses and reinforce security awareness.

Get Started with Social Engineering Testing

Social engineering remains one of the most effective paths to compromise. Test your defences and train your employees to recognise and resist manipulation tactics.
Contact Us to schedule a Social Engineering Assessment and strengthen your organisation’s human defences.