Social engineering
A manipulation technique that exploits human psychology rather than technical vulnerabilities to gain access to systems, data, or physical locations. Phishing is the most common form. AI has made social engineering attacks more sophisticated, personalized, and difficult to detect.
Defined in 2 GAGE programs, which carry 5 distinct definitions of it. The wording above is taught in AI Literacy & Professional Conduct.
How each discipline defines it
The same term does different work depending on who is using it. These are the definitions as each program teaches them, unedited.
A manipulation technique that exploits human psychology rather than technical vulnerabilities to gain access to systems, data, or physical locations. Phishing is the most common form. AI has made social engineering attacks more sophisticated, personalized, and difficult to detect.
The practice of manipulating a person, such as a carrier's customer service representative, into taking an action (like approving a SIM change) through deception, impersonation, or false urgency, rather than through any technical hacking of a computer system.
Manipulating human psychology (trust, urgency, authority, fear) to bypass security controls. Phishing, vishing (voice phishing), pretexting, and baiting are all forms of social engineering. AI has made social engineering attacks more personalized and harder to detect.
The manipulation of a person into breaking security or handing over value by exploiting trust, authority, fear, urgency, or helpfulness, rather than exploiting a technical vulnerability. AI scales and personalizes it.
The general term for manipulating a person, rather than a computer system, into taking an action that compromises security, such as revealing information or granting access.
Where it is taught
The exact lessons this term appears in. The first 7 topics of every program are free with a free account.
- Digital Readiness Self-Audit · Digital Foundations, AI Literacy & Professional Conduct
- Online Safety, Privacy, and Data Basics · Digital Foundations, AI Literacy & Professional Conduct
- AI-Specific Threat Detection · AI Security Fundamentals, AI Literacy & Professional Conduct
- Locking your phone number: port out protection and a SIM PIN · The Hardening Lab, Senior AI Scam Defense
- Account Takeover Starts With a Help Desk, Not a Hacker · Account and Asset Theft, Senior AI Scam Defense
Terms it appears with
Not an alphabetical neighbourhood: these are the terms taught in the same lessons, ranked by how often they appear together.