Probing into the efforts in establishing trust over relationship commitment: the case of pretexting a social engineering attack
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51247/8wys1v42Keywords:
pretexting,, social engineering, trust, attack cycleAbstract
Social engineering represents one of the main threats to information security, exploiting psychological and behavioral factors to gain access to confidential data. Among its forms, the pretext attack stands out for its deliberate construction of credible scenarios designed to build trust and persuade victims to reveal sensitive information. The objective of this study was to analyze the influence of trust-building efforts through pretext and their relationship to the vulnerability of Information Systems and Technology students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) to this type of attack. The research adopted a quantitative approach, with a non-experimental, explanatory design, using a survey to collect data from Information Systems and Technology students. The data obtained were analyzed using statistical procedures to evaluate the relationship between communication quality, persuasive efforts, trust, relational commitment, and susceptibility to pretext attacks. The results showed that communication quality did not have a statistically significant influence on participants' trust. In contrast, persuasive efforts significantly increased trust, strengthening commitment in relationships and increasing vulnerability to social engineering attacks based on pretexts. It is concluded that persuasive mechanisms are a determining factor in the effectiveness of pretexts, highlighting the need to strengthen security awareness training and develop skills to identify social manipulation strategies
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