What does "social engineering" refer to in cybersecurity?

In cybersecurity, "social engineering" specifically refers to the manipulation of individuals to gain confidential information. This technique often involves exploiting human psychology rather than relying on technical vulnerabilities. Social engineers may use tactics such as impersonation, deception, or creating a sense of urgency to trick individuals into providing sensitive information, such as passwords, personal identification numbers, or other confidential data.

The effectiveness of social engineering lies in its focus on the human factor, which can often be more predictable and less secure than technology-based defenses. This highlights the importance of training and awareness programs to help individuals recognize and resist such manipulative approaches.

The other options speak to different concepts within cybersecurity. Programming secure applications encompasses practices like secure coding and vulnerability assessments, but does not relate to human interaction. Automatically securing user accounts relates to the use of software and tools to enforce security policies, which are again not about manipulating individuals. Monitoring social media for threats focuses on threat intelligence and awareness rather than interaction with individuals to extract information.