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How many people are realistically going to pester their friends & relatives with "challenge questions"? I bet even the majority of folks in the HN crowd don't/w
by dabernathy89 8y ago
How many people are realistically going to pester their friends & relatives with "challenge questions"? I bet even the majority of folks in the HN crowd don't/wouldn't.
- thinkloop 8y agoI'm not saying you have to know their first pet's name. I'm saying it's usually pretty obvious through regular conversation if someone is who they say they are, and worst case, if you're suspicious, you can ask about some shared past event without them knowing that they're being challenged.
- dabernathy89 8y agoI could see some people doing this if they notice obviously suspicious behavior on top of the safety number change, but I suppose that depends on the skill of the attacker.
- skybrian 8y agoYou are basically saying that social engineering never works, but there are many stories about how social engineering sometimes works.
- feanaro 8y agoWhy does it have to never work? No technique is perfect.
- geofft 8y ago"I'd love to chat, but I'm lost in a foreign country. Can you just Venmo me some money so I can get home and then we can talk about $shared_past_event later?"
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- OJFord 8y agoI was impressed that my non-technical parents challenged my brother when he (or someone claiming to be him) (claimed to have) lost his phone and other possessions travelling. I think as long as the meta message about the change of key is prominent/scary enough, even non-HNers will be as on edge as necessary.