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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/secplus-social-engineering-definition

Tricking a person into revealing information or taking a harmful action is called what?

Social engineering, attacking the human instead of the machine.

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  1. Key stretching
  2. Port scanning
  3. Social engineering ✔

Why: Attackers exploit trust, urgency and helpfulness. Phishing, pretexting, impersonation and baiting are all forms, which is why training matters.

Huh, didn't know that: NIST SP 800-53 awareness training calls for practical exercises such as no-notice social engineering attempts.

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References

Answer: Social engineering. Attackers exploit trust, urgency and helpfulness. Phishing, pretexting, impersonation and baiting are all forms, which is why training matters.

  1. NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Security and Privacy Controls nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-53r5.pdf
    Social engineering is an attempt to trick an individual into revealing information or taking an action that can be used to breach
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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