Social engineering used to refer to large-scale campaigns to alter the attitudes or behaviour of a population. These days, cyber specialists use it to mean something else: manipulating individuals into performing actions or divulging information that can enable criminals to hack into IT networks — where they can steal data, shut down systems and extort. The costs can be huge. For Marks and Spencer, one of Britain’s biggest retailers, a cyber attack that began last month is expected to knock as much as £300mn off its annual operating profit, and has wiped about £750mn from its market value.
社会工程学过去指的是改变人们态度或行为的大规模活动，如今网络专家用它来表示另一种含义：操纵个体行为，使其执行特定操作或泄露信息，从而帮助黑客入侵IT系统，实施数据窃取、系统瘫痪或勒索等行为。这类攻击可能带来巨大的代价。英国最大零售商之一玛莎百货上月遭遇的一起网络攻击预计将使其年度营业利润减少最多3亿英镑，并已导致公司市值蒸发约7.5亿英镑。