Which term describes exploiting human psychology to obtain confidential information?

Which term describes exploiting human psychology to obtain confidential information?

• A. Social engineering
• B. Phishing
• C. Brute force
• D. Sniffing

Answer: (A)

Exploiting human psychology to obtain confidential information is social engineering. It focuses on manipulating people rather than breaking into systems, using trust, authority, urgency, or curiosity to coax sensitive data from victims. For example, impersonating someone credible over the phone or email, or creating a believable scenario to elicit passwords or security details, are common tactics. Phishing is a well-known method within social engineering that uses deceptive messages to trick people into revealing data or credentials. The other terms describe technical attacks that don’t rely on manipulating people: brute force attempts many password guesses, and sniffing captures network traffic. So the best fit for this behavior is social engineering.

Exploiting human psychology to obtain confidential information is social engineering. It focuses on manipulating people rather than breaking into systems, using trust, authority, urgency, or curiosity to coax sensitive data from victims. For example, impersonating someone credible over the phone or email, or creating a believable scenario to elicit passwords or security details, are common tactics. Phishing is a well-known method within social engineering that uses deceptive messages to trick people into revealing data or credentials. The other terms describe technical attacks that don’t rely on manipulating people: brute force attempts many password guesses, and sniffing captures network traffic. So the best fit for this behavior is social engineering.