social engineering
noun
1
: management of human beings in accordance with their place and function in society : applied social science
2
: social methods (such as phishing) that are used to obtain personal or confidential information which can then be used illicitly
The previously noted trend of switching from social engineering to hacking methods in attacks on organizations strengthened … 
San Fernando Valley (California) Business Journal
San Fernando Valley (California) Business Journal social engineer noun
plural social engineers
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Organizations that require physical authentication keys for logins have had success defending themselves against such remote social engineering attacks. WIRED, 18 Sep. 2022 Vows to remain unmarried and ‘DINK’ families Beijing’s social engineering policies, coupled with shifting societal trends, have contributed to China’s decline in marriages. Yvonne Lau, Fortune, 1 Sep. 2022 The social engineering method outlined by Google involved contacting security researchers, and asking them to collaborate on their work. Jon Porter, The Verge, 26 Jan. 2021 The vulnerability can be exploited by an attacker using social engineering or phishing tactics to trick a user into opening a malicious document or file or visiting a compromised website to the same end. Davey Winder, Forbes, 10 Aug. 2022 The ban is all that more unusual given Hadnagy’s social engineering village drew crowds. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 19 Aug. 2022 Employees can identify and defend against increasingly sophisticated phishing scams and social engineering attacks. Yec, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2022 The PwC presenters also said threat actors use social engineering methods to pressure victims into clicking malicious links or opening attachments. Kim Key, PCMAG, 12 Aug. 2022 Thanks to public education, the Arenas family reestablished themselves as French-style intellectual activists—the father, Patricio, holds two master’s degrees, one in social engineering and the other in political economy. John R. Macarthur, Harper’s Magazine , 9 Aug. 2022 See More
WIRED, 18 Sep. 2022 Vows to remain unmarried and ‘DINK’ families Beijing’s social engineering policies, coupled with shifting societal trends, have contributed to China’s decline in marriages. Yvonne Lau, Fortune, 1 Sep. 2022 The social engineering method outlined by Google involved contacting security researchers, and asking them to collaborate on their work. Jon Porter, The Verge, 26 Jan. 2021 The vulnerability can be exploited by an attacker using social engineering or phishing tactics to trick a user into opening a malicious document or file or visiting a compromised website to the same end. Davey Winder, Forbes, 10 Aug. 2022 The ban is all that more unusual given Hadnagy’s social engineering village drew crowds. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 19 Aug. 2022 Employees can identify and defend against increasingly sophisticated phishing scams and social engineering attacks. Yec, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2022 The PwC presenters also said threat actors use social engineering methods to pressure victims into clicking malicious links or opening attachments. Kim Key, PCMAG, 12 Aug. 2022 Thanks to public education, the Arenas family reestablished themselves as French-style intellectual activists—the father, Patricio, holds two master’s degrees, one in social engineering and the other in political economy. John R. Macarthur, Harper’s Magazine , 9 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1899, in the meaning defined at sense 1