What type of attack relies on the trusting nature of employees and the art of deception?

Social engineering is the obtaining of information by human trust manipulation of people into performing actions or divulging confidential information. Social engineering exploits the one weakness that is found in human psychology. Social engineering is a designation that encompasses a broad spectrum of malicious activity. There are five most common attacks that social engineers use to target their victims.

These include phishing, pretexting, baiting, quid pro quo, and tailgating. Social engineering involves hoodwinking people into giving up personal information such as passwords or bank information. Social engineering is the nontechnical decoding of information security. It applies trickery for the sole purpose of gathering secure information.