social engineering

noun

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

social engineer noun

plural social engineers

Examples of social engineering in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

His system puts forward six core moves: be on offense, reverse engineer situations, live off the land, handle risk, use smart social engineering, and pivot. —Jodie Cook, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024

This was fairly trivial: some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, and a lot of patience. —Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 11 Dec. 2024

Far from the low-tech days of doing everything through social engineering by building a rapport with potential victims and crafting tricky emails and text messages, today’s scammers are taking a hybrid approach to make their operations as efficient and lucrative as possible, UN researchers say. —Matt Burgess, WIRED, 12 Oct. 2024

The scammers used spoof emails and social engineering tactics to gain control of Merle’s devices, isolating her from her family and ultimately draining her life savings. —Kody Boye, USA TODAY, 6 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

social engineering

noun

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