What is the definition of social engineering in cybersecurity?

Social engineering in cybersecurity is defined as the act of manipulating individuals into revealing sensitive data. This technique relies on psychological manipulation rather than technical hacks to breach security. The key aspect of social engineering is that it targets human behavior and decision-making processes, often exploiting trust or fear to persuade individuals to divulge confidential information, such as passwords, account numbers, or personal identification details.

This form of attack can take many forms, including phishing emails, pretexting, baiting, and various other scams where the attacker deceives the victim into providing the desired information. It underscores the importance of awareness and training for individuals and organizations to recognize and defend against such risks.

Other options describe measures or techniques that focus on strengthening security or preventing attacks but do not capture the essence of social engineering, which is intrinsically linked to human interactions and the manipulation thereof to compromise security.