Shoulder surfing is a social engineering technique that involves looking over someone’s shoulder to observe sensitive information, such as passwords, PINs, or credit card numbers, that they enter on their computer, phone, or ATM. It is the least likely method of social engineering to yield beneficial information based on the data collected by Maltego, because it requires physical proximity and access to the target’s devices, which may not be feasible or safe for the hacker. Moreover, shoulder surfing does not leverage the information obtained by Maltego, such as domains, DNS names, Netblocks, or IP addresses, which are more relevant for network-based attacks.
The other options are more likely to yield beneficial information based on the data collected by Maltego, because they involve exploiting the target’s trust, curiosity, or negligence, and using the information obtained by Maltego to craft convincing scenarios or messages. Impersonating an ISP technical support agent to trick the target into providing further network details is a form of pretexting, where the hacker creates a false identity and scenario to obtain information or access from the target. Dumpster diving in the target company’s trash bins for valuable printouts is a technique that relies on the target’s negligence or lack of proper disposal of sensitive documents, such as network diagrams, passwords, or confidential reports. Eavesdropping on internal corporate conversations to understand key topics is a technique that exploits the target’s curiosity or lack of awareness, and allows the hacker to gather information about the target’s projects, plans, or problems, which can be used for further attacks or extortion. References:
Social Engineering: Definition & 5 Attack Types
How to Use Maltego Transforms to Map Network Infrastructure: An In-Depth Guide
Social engineering: Definition, examples, and techniques
