What does social engineering involve in the context of unauthorized access?

What does social engineering involve in the context of unauthorized access?

• A. Manipulating individuals into divulging confidential information.
• B. Exploiting software vulnerabilities only.
• C. Bypassing physical access controls using brute force.
• D. Encrypting data to protect confidentiality.

Answer: (A)

Social engineering centers on getting people to do something they shouldn’t—mainly revealing credentials or other confidential data. Attackers exploit psychology, trust, and social norms to fool someone into sharing a password, a one-time code, or security answers, often through phishing, pretexting, baiting, or tailgating. Because the goal is to bypass access controls by manipulating a person rather than breaking a system, this best describes how unauthorized access can be obtained. The other ideas focus on technical flaws, brute-force physical entry, or defensive measures, none of which capture the human-centered deception at the heart of social engineering.

Social engineering centers on getting people to do something they shouldn’t—mainly revealing credentials or other confidential data. Attackers exploit psychology, trust, and social norms to fool someone into sharing a password, a one-time code, or security answers, often through phishing, pretexting, baiting, or tailgating. Because the goal is to bypass access controls by manipulating a person rather than breaking a system, this best describes how unauthorized access can be obtained. The other ideas focus on technical flaws, brute-force physical entry, or defensive measures, none of which capture the human-centered deception at the heart of social engineering.