How hackers can make ‘virtually any person’ click on a dangerous link

You can be the smartest security buff in the world, yet researchers could probably still trick you into clicking on a dangerous link.

Zinaida Benenson, who leads a group that aims to understand human factors in security and privacy at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany, set out to find out why people decide to click or not to click on potentially malicious links. That’s usually the first step into launching a malware attack, installing ransomware, or stealing data.

Benenson will this week tell attendees at her Black Hat talk in Las Vegas that anyone can be tricked into clicking on a dangerous link — despite their security awareness.

“By a careful design and timing of the message, it should be possible to make virtually any person to click on a link, as any person will be curious about something, or interested in some topic, or find themselves in a life situation that fits the message content and context,” said Benenson, who she shared with me her findings ahead of her talk on Wednesday. For the full article click here 

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