What is social engineering

Social engineering refers to a technology and method that uses human psychology and social behavior to obtain information, deceive or manipulate others. It is a non-technical attack method that is obtained through social tools and techniques. Target information or influence its behavior. Preventing social engineering attacks requires enhanced education and training, the protection of personal information and sensitive data, and technical measures to protect the security of applications and systems.

# Operating system for this tutorial: Windows 10 system, Dell G3 computer.

Social engineering refers to a technique and method that uses human psychology and social behavior to obtain information, deceive or manipulate others. It is a non-technical attack method that uses social tools and techniques to obtain target information or influence their behavior.

Social engineering originated in the fields of sociology and psychology, but has now become part of the information security field. It takes advantage of human nature and social behavior to obtain target information through manipulation, deception, disguise and other means. Social engineering attackers usually have strong communication and persuasion skills, can quickly establish trust relationships, and obtain sensitive information of targets.

The target of social engineering can be an individual, organization or business. Attackers can contact the target through email, phone, social media and other channels, and obtain the target's personal information, passwords, bank accounts and other sensitive information through various means. This type of attack is often more effective than traditional technical attacks because it directly targets human psychology and behavior.

Social engineering can be divided into many forms, including phishing, impostor, spamming, etc. Phishing is the most common form of social engineering attack, in which attackers obtain a user's personal information by forging a legitimate email, website, or messaging app. Identity impersonation occurs when an attacker assumes the identity of another person to obtain information or gain unauthorized access. Spam is sending large amounts of false information or advertising to trick people into clicking on links or providing personal information.

To protect the security of individuals and organizations, we need to take some precautions to prevent social engineering attacks. First, educate and train personnel to be aware of the risks of social engineering and common attack vectors. Secondly, strengthen the protection of personal information and sensitive data, including using strong passwords, changing passwords regularly, and not disclosing personal information easily. Also, be wary of trusting requests or providing personal information from strangers.

As programmers, we can also provide some technical solutions to social engineering attacks. For example, protect the security of applications and systems by using secure programming practices and technical measures, including data encryption, access control, user authentication, etc. In addition, we can develop tools and techniques for detecting and preventing social engineering attacks, such as automatically identifying phishing websites, detecting spam, etc.

In short, social engineering is an attack method that uses human psychology and social behavior to obtain information, deceive, or manipulate others. It is a non-technical attack method that obtains target information by manipulating human behavior and exploiting human nature. To prevent social engineering attacks, we need to increase education and training, protect personal information and sensitive data, and take technical measures to protect the security of applications and systems.

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