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

Attacks that can create critical threat campaigns using AI for just $5 are evidence of just how far social engineering hackers have evolved. —Davey Winder, Forbes, 10 Feb. 2025

In another case, the way in which employee responses to DOGE’s Fork in the Road buyout offer to federal employees are collected could easily be manipulated by someone with malicious intent – a simple social engineering attack could wrongly end a worker’s employment. —Richard Forno, The Conversation, 6 Feb. 2025

Kurt's key takeaways This latest trick targeting iMessage users serves as a reminder that even seemingly secure systems can be vulnerable to social engineering. —Kurt Knutsson, Cyberguy Report, Fox News, 27 Jan. 2025

From phishing scams to social engineering attacks, much of the conversation centers on human susceptibility to manipulation. —Lauren Carpenter, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2025

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