Social engineering
Course: AP® Cybersecurity Shows up in: Unit 1: Introduction to SecurityUnit 2: Securing Spaces
An attack that uses psychological tactics to manipulate people into revealing sensitive information, downloading a malicious file or clicking a malicious link.
Appears in the course and exam description (CED): 1.1.A.12.1.A.1
Why it matters in Unit 1
Many attacks begin by fooling a person rather than breaking a computer, so spotting the tactics is the first line of defense.
Example
A text claiming to be from a delivery company asks you to “pay a small fee” through a link.
Learn it properly, with a checkpoint 1.1 Understanding Social EngineeringGo deeper: the professional references
Security professionals worldwide use these. MITRE ATT&CK catalogs real attacker techniques; the NIST glossary is the U.S. government's official security dictionary. They go beyond the AP® course, so use the definition above for the exam.