It can happen by phone or online, often in the blink of an eye.

Social engineering is the latest threat to online security, compromising your personal information as impersonators pretend to be someone you would likely trust.

It’s the art of gaining access to buildings, systems or information by exploiting human psychology, rather than breaking in or using technical hacking techniques.

Brock IT Services has launched a new cyber security campaign to inform the community of how social engineering happens and what you can do to protect your information.

Some tips from ITS include:

• Don’t give away any of your sensitive information until you have verified the identity of the person
• Avoid social engineering schemes by only giving information to people who really have a need for the information

For more information, visit the campaign website at https://brocku.ca/information-technology/security/social-engineering