Which type of threat uses deception to obtain confidential information from people?

Which type of threat uses deception to obtain confidential information from people?

• A. Phishing
• B. Malware
• C. Shoulder surfing
• D. Social engineering

Answer: (D)

Social engineering relies on deception to coax people into revealing confidential information. It targets human psychology—impersonation, urgency, or trust—to trick someone into sharing passwords, PINs, or financial data. Phishing is a common tactic within social engineering, typically delivered by email or fake websites, but the broad concept asked about is social engineering itself. Shoulder surfing is about physically watching someone enter data, and malware involves malicious software rather than directly deceiving a person into surrendering information. So, the type of threat described is social engineering.

Social engineering relies on deception to coax people into revealing confidential information. It targets human psychology—impersonation, urgency, or trust—to trick someone into sharing passwords, PINs, or financial data. Phishing is a common tactic within social engineering, typically delivered by email or fake websites, but the broad concept asked about is social engineering itself. Shoulder surfing is about physically watching someone enter data, and malware involves malicious software rather than directly deceiving a person into surrendering information. So, the type of threat described is social engineering.