social engineering

[soh-shuhl en-juh-neer-ing]

noun

1. Political Science.,  the manipulation of social beliefs and behaviors by public or private entities through legislation, policy, and investment.

2. a technique that uses psychological manipulation, fraud, or dishonesty to force people to disclose private personal or corporate information, or to take a particular action.

   Hackers are using social engineering to perpetrate phishing scams.

social engineering

noun

1. the manipulation of the social position and function of individuals in order to manage change in a society

Other Word Forms

• social engineer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of social engineering¹

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Jim Browning, a 'scam baiter' who hacks the computers of fraudsters attempting online scams, said anyone can become a victim of scammers, particularly as "what they are good at is social engineering".

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The attackers bypassed Claude’s safety systems through social engineering, convincing the AI they were legitimate cybersecurity professionals conducting authorized testing.

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They used social engineering tricks to get access to the powerful internal control panel at the site.

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It has demonstrated over the centuries a deep faith in human betterment through liberal reformism and social engineering.

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The hackers reportedly stole the sensitive data using a social engineering technique, referring to a tactic of manipulating victims by pretending to be a company representative or other trusted person.

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