Western Governors University (WGU) ITEC2112 D315 Network and Security - Foundations Pre-assessment Practice Exam

Impersonation is a prominent example of social engineering because it involves manipulating individuals into divulging confidential or personal information by pretending to be someone they trust. In this context, an attacker might impersonate a company employee or a trusted authority figure to gain access to sensitive data or systems. This technique relies heavily on the psychological aspect of trust and deception, which are core principles of social engineering.

Further, phishing is similarly associated with social engineering, though it specifically involves tricking individuals through electronic means, such as email or text messages, to provide personal information. Dumpster diving, while a tactic used to gather confidential information, does not involve direct interaction or manipulation of individuals, making it less about social engineering and more about information gathering. War dialing, which involves automatically dialing a range of phone numbers to find modems, does not relate to social engineering as it does not exploit human interactions or trust; it is more focused on technical exploration.