Eleventh Hour Security+

Defending against social engineering

Hacking may be done through expert computer skills, programs that acquire information, or through an understanding of human behavior. This last method is called social engineering. When social engineering is used, hackers misrepresent themselves or trick a person into revealing information. Using this method, a hacker may ask a user for their password or force the user to reveal other sensitive information.

Hackers using social engineering to acquire information will often misrepresent themselves as authority figures or someone in a position to help their victim. Social engineering often involves more subtle methods of acquiring information than simply asking for a password. In many cases, the hacker will ...