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Security Operations · Foundational

Social Engineering

Manipulating people into revealing information, granting access or performing actions that compromise security.

Definition

Social engineering exploits human psychology rather than technical flaws, using principles such as authority, urgency, scarcity, familiarity, trust, intimidation and social proof. It is delivered via email, phone, text, in person or social media. Security awareness training and verification procedures are the main countermeasures.

Example

A caller posing as IT support persuades an employee to read out an MFA code.

Exam tip

When a question asks for the best defense against social engineering, user awareness training is usually the answer.

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