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We live in a world where a new breed of alchemist has emerged.
These modern-day sorcerers aren’t toiling over bubbling cauldrons or searching for the philosopher’s stone.
Instead, they’re mining the most valuable resource of our age: human attention.
Because once youve hooked someone, they become easier to influence and manipulate.
Lead security awareness advocate at KnowBe4.
Dr. Firewall, acybersecurityelder, shared his thoughts with me.
“They want to be entertained, outraged, or validated.”
Advertising: The original social alchemy
Influencing human behavior isnt new.
Advertising agencies have been trying to understand and manipulate behavior since before the days of Mad Men.
Its not uncommon to see corporate giants like Nike and Pepsi experiment with the volatile elements of public opinion.
Nike’s 2018 campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick is a masterclass in corporate social alchemy.
The initial reaction was explosive.
But Nike had calculated this risk.
They understood their core demographic and the power of taking a stand in a polarized world.
Nike’s online sales jumped 31% in the days following the campaign launch.
The ad was pulled within 24 hours, and Pepsi issued an apology.
This miscalculation highlights the risks of corporate social engagement experiments.
Pepsi misread the room, underestimating the complexity and sensitivity of the issues they were attempting to leverage.
The backfire served as a reminder that in the attention economy, negative engagement can be just as viral.
Turning our curiosity, outrage, desire for connection, and other emotions into a powerful tool of engagement.
Another dark art is the “curiosity gap” technique.
It’s the digital equivalent of a cliffhanger, leaving our brains itching for resolution.
The “outrage machine” is perhaps the most insidious of these dark arts.
Platforms like Facebook have admitted that anger is the emotion that spreads most easily online.
Content creators exploit this by crafting posts designed to provoke moral outrage.
Even more troubling is the rise of deepfake technology.
Despite being quickly debunked, the video had already shaped perceptions for millions of viewers.
The “astroturfing” technique creates the illusion of grassroots support for ideas or products.
In 2006,Sonyfaced backlash for creating a fake blog to promote their PSP console.
These campaigns exploit our tendency to follow the crowd, manufacturing social proof out of thin air.
Perhaps most pervasive is the art of “dopamine hacking.”
Social media platforms are designed to trigger small bursts of pleasure with each like, share, or notification.
By understanding and exploiting the brain’s reward system, these platforms turn our own neurochemistry against us.
These dark arts of virality aren’t just annoying or manipulative they’re reshaping our information landscape.
They exploit the human element that cybersecurity experts have long warned about, turning our quirks into vulnerabilities.
As these techniques become more sophisticated, the line between engagement and exploitation grows ever thinner.
In this new frontier of social engineering, awareness is our first line of defense.
By understanding these tactics, we can begin to recognize when we’re being manipulated.
Take the case of the UK, where digital whispers transformed into physical violence.
In 2020, conspiracy theories linking 5G networks to the COVID-19 pandemic spread like wildfire across social media platforms.
Over 70 cell towers were vandalized or burned in the UK alone.
But the weaponization of information isn’t always so overt.
The rise of “troll farms” adds another layer to this digital arms race.
Even more insidious is the weaponization of truth itself.
The health sector hasn’t been spared either.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we witnessed an “infodemic” alongside the viral outbreak.
Anti-vaccine misinformation, often weaponized and spread by coordinated groups, led to vaccine hesitancy that cost lives.
Here, the weaponization of information directly impacted public health outcomes.
In the corporate world, “short and distort” schemes show how weaponized information can manipulate markets.
This tactic has cost companies millions and undermined investor confidence.
Countering this threat requires a multifaceted approach.
Technical solutions like improved content moderation and AI-driven fact-checking are part of the puzzle.
But equally important is fostering digital literacy and critical thinking skills among the general public.
As cybersecurity professionals, our mandate has expanded.
Defending the Human Element
As the digital landscape evolves, so too must our approach to cybersecurity.
Defending the human element requires a multifaceted approach that combines technological solutions with psychological insights and educational initiatives.
Cultivating Digital Street Smarts
The first line of defense is education, but not in the conventional sense.
We need to move beyond dry, technical training and focus on developing “digital street smarts.”
This means teaching people to recognize the emotional triggers and cognitive biases that social engineers exploit.
Leveraging Behavioral Science
Understanding human behavior is key to defending against social engineering attacks.
This is where the Human Risk Management approach comes into play.
This simple framework can significantly reduce the spread of misinformation.
Fostering a Culture of Skepticism
Creating an environment where it’s okay to question and verify is crucial.
This is where the value of regular simulated phishing comes into play.
Embracing Transparency
Finally, fostering a culture of openness about mistakes and near-misses is crucial.
To Summarize
Defending the human element is an ongoing process, not a one-time fix.
It requires constant adaptation as social engineering tactics evolve.
How do we foster genuine connection in a world of engineered interactions?
How do we preserve truth when lies are crafted to be more appealing?
These are the questions that will define the next era of digital security.
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The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc.
