A deceptive process in which crackers
“engineer” or design a social situation to trick others into allowing them
access to an otherwise closed network, or into believing a reality that does
not exist. To crack computer systems, crackers
often employ their well-honed social engineering skills. A robust sample of
social-engineering case studies can be found in Kevin MitnickÂ’s book The
Art of Deception.
Social engineering can also be used in noncyber-related
crimes. A 2005 case involved a 39-year-old U.S. woman by the name of Anna
Ayala, who filed a complaint to police in March saying that a human finger was
in the chili bowl she purchased from a San Jose WendyÂ’s fast-food outlet. The
police, believing that the complaint was a hoax after they investigated the
claim, eventually discovered that the finger belonged to a man who lost his
finger in an industrial accident in December 2004. He gave his finger to AnnaÂ’s
husband, who gave it to Anna. Anna apparently “social engineered” a fake
reality and was convicted of filing a false claim and of grand theft and
sentenced to nine years in prison. The WendyÂ’s company offered a $100,000
reward for information regarding the claim, for it said that the crime cost it
millions of dollars in sales. Apparently, the company had to lay off dozens of
employees at the San Jose worksite because business there was harmed.
See Also:
Crackers; Human Factor and Social Engineering; Mitnick, Kevin (a.k.a. Condor).
Associated Press. Police Identify Source of Finger Found in Chili. The Globe and Mail, May 14, 2005, p.
A2; Schell, B.H. and Martin, C. Contemporary
World Issues Series: Cybercrime: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara,
CA: ABC-CLIO, 2004.
