A user just received a phone call claiming to be from Tech Support concerning a security vulnerability on the user's computer. The technician requested the user's password to remove a virus. This…

Question

Options

• AAdvanced Persistent Threat
• BSocial Engineering
• CDenial of Service
• DMalware Attack

• B
  92% (49)
• C
  6% (3)
• D
  2% (1)

Explanation

Social engineering (B) is correct because this scenario involves a human manipulating another human through deception - impersonating a trusted authority (Tech Support) to trick the user into surrendering credentials. The attacker exploits trust and urgency rather than any technical vulnerability.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• A (Advanced Persistent Threat): APTs are long-term, stealthy intrusions by sophisticated attackers (often nation-states) targeting specific organizations - not a quick phone scam.
• C (Denial of Service): DoS attacks overwhelm systems with traffic to make them unavailable; no human manipulation is involved.
• D (Malware Attack): Malware requires malicious software to be installed; this attack uses a phone call, not code.

Memory tip: Think "social" = people, not technology. Whenever an attack relies on deceiving or manipulating a person (phishing emails, vishing calls, pretexting), that's social engineering - the exploit is the human, not the machine.

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