Social engineering

1. Misleading users into providing information that can be used to compromise the security of a system. Usually low-tech. Social engineering of election officials includes emails and phone calls requesting information that can be used to spoof accounts or hack passwords.

Source: Information Technology Terminology, U.S. Election Assistance Commission, https://www.eac.gov/documents/2017/09/21/information-technology-terminology-security

2. The practice of manipulating legitimate users to allow increased access to a system by an illegitimate user.

Source: U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission, March 2020, https://subscriber.politicopro.com/f/?id=00000170-c638-d8f7-a7f1-f63b33510000

3. Social engineering attacks take advantage of people's helpfulness, credulity or lack of self confidence in order to gain access to confidential data or to prompt them to perform certain actions, for example.

Source: Information Assurance Situation in Switzerland and Internationally, Reporting and Analysis Centre for Information Assurance MELANI, https://www.newsd.admin.ch/newsd/message/attachments/11945.pdf