What is a common consequence of a successful social engineering attack?

A common consequence of a successful social engineering attack is unauthorized access to information. Social engineering exploits human psychology to manipulate individuals into divulging confidential or sensitive information. For instance, an attacker might pose as an IT support staff to trick an employee into revealing their login credentials. This unauthorized access enables the attacker to view, steal, or modify sensitive data, potentially leading to further exploits, data breaches, or identity theft.

Other potential consequences, such as data encryption or loss of hardware, are more directly associated with specific types of attacks like ransomware or physical theft, respectively. Network slowdown does not typically stem from social engineering but rather from network overload or malfunction. Therefore, unauthorized access to information is the most direct and prevalent result of successful social engineering tactics.