It was late on a Friday afternoon when Troy Willicott got a call at the help desk for Taggitt Finances.A man with an edge of panic clearly discernible in his voice was on the phone."I'm really in a bind and I sure hope that you can help me." He identified himself as Chet Frazier from the Accounting Department.He told Troy that he had to work on a report that was due on Monday morning and that he had forgotten to bring a written copy of his new password home with him.Troy knew that Taggitt's new password policy,that required that passwords must be at least fifteen characters long,must contain letters and numbers,and must be changed every sixty days,had created problems.Consequently,Troy provided the password,listened as it was read back to him,and was profusely thanked before ending the call.The caller was not Chet Frazier,and Troy Willicott was a victim of
A) phreaking.
B) war dialing.
C) identity theft.
D) social engineering.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The scenario described in the passage is an example of social engineering, which involves manipulating people into divulging confidential information or performing actions that facilitate a cyber attack. In this case, the caller pretended to be someone else and used a sense of urgency to convince Troy to give him sensitive information.

It Was Late on a Friday Afternoon When Troy Willicott