Final answer:
Social engineering techniques like phishing exploit human psychology to steal information. To avoid these, individuals should use security measures like two-factor authentication and be educated in recognizing scams, while organizations need strengthened website protections and internal systems security.
Step-by-step explanation:
Social engineering refers to a range of malicious activities accomplished through human interactions that trick people into breaking normal security procedures. One common technique is phishing, where hackers masquerade as trustworthy entities in emails or messages to coax personal information from victims. Other tactics include pretexting, baiting, tailgating, and spear phishing, each leveraging different aspects of human psychology and trust. To avoid falling prey to social engineering, individuals and organizations need to be vigilant. It is essential to develop effective cybersecurity strategies such as deploying two-factor authentication, using strong, unique passwords, and educating oneself on recognizing and handling unsolicited requests for information. Awareness of these techniques is crucial, especially in vulnerable situations like job searching, where communication with strangers is frequent. For companies and governments, implementing stronger protections on websites and internal systems reduces the risk of successful attacks. Generally, preempting these issues or quickly addressing them as they arise is essential for maintaining security.