What is an example of social engineering?

In the context of cybersecurity, social engineering refers to manipulative tactics that attackers use to trick individuals into divulging confidential or personal information. A prime example of this is receiving a call to verify personal information. This type of communication often plays on trust or urgency, where an individual might be led to believe that verifying their identity is necessary for legitimate reasons, such as account security or system updates. Attackers exploit human psychology to gain sensitive information by pretending to be trusted entities.

While the other options can sometimes involve elements of social engineering, they do not fit the definition as closely as the chosen answer. An invitation to a WebEx meeting could simply be a legitimate communication and doesn’t directly ask for sensitive information. Requesting an administrator to change a password is typically a regular operational procedure in organizational settings, assuming proper identity verification protocols are followed. Receiving an email to update contract information could also be legitimate, though it could turn malicious if it involves phishing techniques, it is not as straightforward an example of social engineering as the phone call scenario.