What is it called when an attacker gains access to a corporate network by pretending to be an employee? Learn how social engineering exploits human trust and organizational processes—essential knowledge for the Cisco Certified Support Technician (CCST) Cybersecurity 100-160 exam.
Table of Contents
Question
An attacker gains access to a corporate network by disguising themselves as an employee. What type of attack is this?
A. SQL injection
B. Ransomware attack
C. DNS spoofing
D. Social engineering
E. Brute force attack
Answer
D. Social engineering
Explanation
Social engineering manipulates individuals into divulging confidential information or allowing access.
The described scenario is a social engineering attack.
Social engineering is a tactic where attackers manipulate, deceive, or influence individuals to gain unauthorized access to systems, networks, or physical locations by exploiting human psychology rather than technical vulnerabilities.
In this context, the attacker disguises themselves as an employee—often using impersonation, pretexting, or other manipulative techniques—to gain the trust of legitimate users or security personnel and bypass normal security protocols.
The goal is typically to obtain confidential information, credentials, or direct access to sensitive systems, which can then be leveraged for further exploitation or data theft.
Social engineering attacks can be highly effective because they exploit predictable human behaviors, such as willingness to help or fear of authority, making them difficult to defend against with technical controls alone.
Common examples include tailgating into secure areas, impersonating IT staff, or using convincing stories to trick employees into revealing passwords or granting access.
Social engineering attacks manipulate people into granting access or divulging information by pretending to be trusted individuals, such as employees, to bypass security measures and compromise organizational assets.
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