What is a common objective of attackers using social engineering?

The primary objective of attackers employing social engineering techniques is to acquire confidential data from individuals. Social engineering leverages psychological manipulation to trick people into disclosing sensitive information, such as passwords, account numbers, or personal identification details. By exploiting human trust and curiosity, attackers can often bypass technological security measures that might otherwise protect this information.

Understanding that data is often the most valuable currency in cyberattacks emphasizes why this approach is so prevalent among malicious actors. Rather than directly attacking a system's defenses, they find it more effective to exploit human vulnerabilities to gain the information they need to carry out fraudulent activities or initiatives.

Other options pertain to improving security measures or creating unauthorized access, but these do not align with the fundamental goal of social engineering. The intention is not to strengthen defenses or policies but to manipulate individuals into compromising their own data security.