Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator (CHFI v10) — Question 111

Julia is a senior security analyst for Berber Consulting group. She is currently working on a contract for a small accounting firm in Florid a. They have given her permission to perform social engineering attacks on the company to see if their in-house training did any good. Julia calls the main number for the accounting firm and talks to the receptionist. Julia says that she is an IT technician from the company's main office in Iowa. She states that she needs the receptionist's network username and password to troubleshoot a problem they are having. Julia says that Bill Hammond, the CEO of the company, requested this information. After hearing the name of the CEO, the receptionist gave Julia all the information she asked for. What principal of social engineering did Julia use?

Answer options

Correct answer: D

Explanation

Julia used the principle of Reciprocation by leveraging the authority of the CEO, Bill Hammond, to gain trust and prompt the receptionist to provide sensitive information. The other options, such as Social Validation, Scarcity, and Friendship/Liking, do not accurately capture the tactic used in this scenario, as they relate to different aspects of social influence.