Social Engineering
Social engineering is the manipulation of people into revealing confidential information or performing actions that compromise security.
“An attempt to trick someone into revealing information (e.g., a password) that can be used to attack systems or networks.”
(Definition reproduced from the ISTQB Glossary. Copyright belongs to ISTQB.)
View the complete ISTQB GlossaryWhat is Social Engineering?
Real World Example
A regulated product team is preparing a release where Social engineering appears in reviews, test design conversations, or defect triage rather than as an isolated glossary word.
The risk is that the team treats Social engineering as interchangeable with nearby ISTQB terms. That makes test scope blurry and can lead to weak evidence for the release decision.
The tester anchors the discussion in the official definition, asks where the concept appears in the product, and designs examples that show the difference between Social engineering and similar ideas.
The page becomes useful in practice because Social engineering is connected to a specific testing decision, not memorized as a detached definition.
Practice Questions
Question 1
Which statement BEST describes Social engineering in the context of ISTQB terminology?
Question 2
A tester needs to explain Social engineering to a non‑technical stakeholder. Which approach is MOST appropriate?
Test your knowledge with real ISTQB-style questions
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