An Effective Blockchain-Based Defense Model for Organizations against Vishing Attacks

Abstract

Social engineering (SE) attacks (also called social hacking) refer to various methods used by cybercriminals to exploit the weak nature of human beings rather than the logical and physical security measures used by organizations. This research paper studies the various methods of SE used by criminals to exploit the psychological vulnerabilities of human beings. On this basis, the paper proposes a new defense categorization of SE attacks based on two security principles: dual control (i.e., more than one entity to complete the task) and split knowledge (i.e., dual controlling of the knowledge to complete the task). We describe how those measures could stop SE attacks and avoid human weaknesses. Then, we propose an original new SE defense model that implements the security principles using blockchain technology to both dual control the transactions and record them safely for organizations. The proposed model’s first aim is to avoid the dependence on the cognitive or psychological status of the victim and enable more verification steps to be taken in a fast and flexible manner. The paper demonstrates the quick and easy adoption of the existing private blockchain platform to implement the proposed SE defense model.

Keywords

• vishing social engineering attacks
• organization defense model
• security policies
• blockchain
• social engineering attack categorization