What is the primary goal of social engineering attacks?

The primary goal of social engineering attacks is to manipulate individuals into revealing sensitive information. Social engineering relies on psychological manipulation rather than technical hacking methods. Attackers often exploit human emotions, such as fear, trust, or curiosity, to persuade their targets to disclose confidential data, such as passwords or personal identification numbers.

This approach can take many forms, including phishing emails, pretexting, or baiting, where attackers create scenarios that make it seem legitimate for individuals to provide sensitive information. Unlike the other options presented, which focus on security enhancement, reputation management, or data encryption for ransom, the core aim of social engineering is the direct extraction of information for malicious purposes. By understanding this motivation, individuals and organizations can better prepare themselves against such deceptive tactics.