Security attacks can vary greatly. Which type of attack is characterized as an attempt to trick an individual into revealing confidential or private information?

Question

Options

• ATrojan
• BSpoofing
• CMan in the middle
• DSocial engineering

• A
  3% (1)
• B
  3% (1)
• D
  94% (29)

Explanation

Social engineering (D) is defined as manipulating or deceiving people into divulging confidential information - it exploits human psychology rather than technical vulnerabilities, making it the only option that directly involves tricking an individual.

• A (Trojan): A Trojan is malware disguised as legitimate software; it compromises a system through deception of the software, not by extracting information through human interaction.
• B (Spoofing): Spoofing involves faking an identity (IP address, email sender, etc.) to impersonate a trusted source - it's a technical deception, not a direct attempt to get a person to reveal information.
• C (Man in the middle): This attack intercepts communication between two parties silently; the victim isn't tricked into revealing anything - data is stolen without their knowledge or interaction.

Memory tip: Think of social engineering as "hacking the human" - any attack where the person is the vulnerability (phishing calls, pretexting, baiting) falls under this umbrella.

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