Computer Terms: What Is "Social Engineering"?

Social Engineering is a technique which releases securities through human conducts.

For example, if an information system blocks the third person by checking ID and passwords, in social engineering, people finds out a formal person and pump from he/she. Concretely,

1). pretend a maintenance man of the system, and tell the fake information that is about the broke down of the system. And ask passwords and ID.

2). pretend a both, and ask those information as a task for the business.

3). eavesdrop a conversation of those information.


and so on.

To prevent social engineering, it is needed to educate user of the information system and maintenance man. To build a strict rule for the information releasing in a organization is effective to stop social engineering.