Social Engineering

What Is Social Engineering?

Social engineering is a type of attack that relies on human interaction to gain access to confidential information or resources. It is a form of manipulation that exploits human weaknesses to gain access to sensitive information or resources. Social engineering attacks can take many forms, including phishing, vishing, and pretexting.

Description

Social engineering attacks typically involve the attacker using psychological manipulation to trick the victim into revealing sensitive information or performing an action that gives the attacker access to a system or network. They can target employees at any level of an organization, from executives to front-line staff.

Usage and Examples

Examples of social engineering attacks include phishing emails that trick employees into revealing their login credentials, and vishing attacks that trick employees into transferring funds to fraudulent bank accounts. Social engineering attacks can also be used to gain physical access to a building or facility.

Evolve Security's penetration testing services include social engineering assessments to test how well your team recognizes and resists manipulation-based attacks.