What does social engineering involve in the context of unauthorized access?

• A. Manipulating individuals into divulging confidential information.
• B. Exploiting software vulnerabilities only.
• C. Bypassing physical access controls using brute force.
• D. Encrypting data to protect confidentiality.

Answer: (A)

Social engineering centers on getting people to do something they shouldn’t—mainly revealing credentials or other confidential data. Attackers exploit psychology, trust, and social norms to fool someone into sharing a password, a one-time code, or security answers, often through phishing, pretexting, baiting, or tailgating. Because the goal is to bypass access controls by manipulating a person rather than breaking a system, this best describes how unauthorized access can be obtained. The other ideas focus on technical flaws, brute-force physical entry, or defensive measures, none of which capture the human-centered deception at the heart of social engineering.