social engineering

noun

Definition of social engineering

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

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Examples of social engineering in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Using social engineering tactics, the attackers tricked Mailchimp customer support employees into handing over their login credentials. — Michael Kan, PCMAG, 4 Apr. 2022 Instead, what the infected app actually does is use social engineering tricks to steal your Facebook login details. — Jacob Siegal, BGR, 22 Mar. 2022 The CryptoRom scammers rely heavily on social engineering. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 16 Mar. 2022 In most cases, a vulnerability is exploited through social engineering or exploitation. — Robert Boudreaux, Forbes, 27 Oct. 2021 The scam uses social engineering and fraudulent apps to steal money from its unsuspecting victims. — Jacob Siegal, BGR, 18 Mar. 2022 Bad actors are often able to extract information from them through phishing, social engineering, or other means. — Neil Mcallister, PCMAG, 4 Mar. 2022 Mac users should learn how to spot social engineering lures, such as unsolicited popups appearing in browser windows that warn of infections or unpatched software. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 2 Feb. 2022 Such social engineering, and patrician largesse, can reek of neo-colonialism—a charge that Shuttleworth doesn’t dismiss. — Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 30 Jan. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'social engineering.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries Near social engineering

social dynamics

social engineering

social evil

Statistics for social engineering

Last Updated

17 Apr 2022

Cite this Entry

“Social engineering.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20engineering. Accessed 21 May. 2022.

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