social engineering

noun

the application of the findings of social science to the solution of actual social problems.

Origin

1895-1900

Related forms

social engineer, noun

Examples from the web for social engineering

But there is an upside to all this social engineering.
social engineering has become the major mission of colleges.
Universities should be in the business of excellence, not social engineering.
The answer may be not more technology, but better social engineering.
Yet utilities may have to resort to social engineering to get customers more engaged.
The days of social engineering may also be drawing to a close.
They're supposed to be the tip of the spear, not a day care center or a social engineering lab.
War in this context implies not only coercion but also social engineering.
Unhappily from the point of view of social engineering.
Engineers know this well, so social engineering is the way that this subject should be better expressed.

British Dictionary definitions for social engineering

social engineering

noun

the manipulation of the social position and function of individuals in order to manage change in a society

social engineering in Technology

jargon, security
A term used among crackers and samurai for cracking techniques that rely on weaknesses in wetware rather than software; the aim is to trick people into revealing passwords or other information that compromises a target system's security. Classic scams include phoning up a mark who has the required information and posing as a field service tech or a fellow employee with an urgent access problem. See also the tiger team story in the patch entry.
[Jargon File]
(2006-11-22)