Which of the following best describes a social engineering attack?

A social engineering attack is best described by a scenario where a threat actor uses deceptive tactics to manipulate individuals into divulging confidential or personal information. In this context, when a caller poses as a remote sales representative to convince a help desk employee to provide login credentials to a remote access server, it illustrates a classic social engineering technique. The attacker exploits trust and authority, using a convincing persona to bypass security measures effectively.

This type of attack relies on psychological manipulation rather than technical vulnerabilities, showcasing how attackers can leverage human behavior to achieve their goals. The essence of social engineering lies in the interaction between the attacker and the victim, where the attacker may use various methods to create a sense of urgency, fear, or curiosity, prompting the target to breach security protocols willingly.

The other scenarios presented involve different forms of cyber threats. For instance, the fake bank email scenario represents phishing, which is a type of social engineering attack that specifically uses emails. The interception of communication and DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks, while serious, do not fit the definition of social engineering since they do not primarily involve psychological manipulation or deceit aimed at individuals.