CEH Practice Question: Malware, Social Engineering and Network Attacks
Which TWO of the following are examples of social engineering attacks? (Select two)
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse pharming (a technical redirection attack) with social engineering, but pharming does not involve direct human interaction or psychological manipulation, which is the defining characteristic of social engineering attacks.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Pretexting
Pretexting is a social engineering attack where the attacker creates a fabricated scenario (pretext) to trick a target into divulging sensitive information or performing an action. It relies on impersonation and psychological manipulation rather than technical exploitation, making it a classic example of human-based social engineering.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Pharming
Why it's wrong here
Pharming redirects traffic to fake sites, but is more technical than social.
- ✓
Pretexting
Why this is correct
Pretexting involves creating a fabricated scenario to obtain information.
- ✗
SYN flood
Why it's wrong here
SYN flood is a DoS attack, not social engineering.
- ✗
Brute force attack
Why it's wrong here
Brute force is a technical attack, not social engineering.
- ✓
Vishing
Why this is correct
Vishing is voice phishing, a social engineering technique using phone calls.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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