As it is the art of manipulating behavior using specially crafted communication techniques, social engineering preys on human weakness, tricking people into delivering their sensitive information. Since it is easier to manipulate individuals rather than hacking computer systems, cybercriminals use social engineering tactics.

In this study, we defined how the social engineering attack cycle is comprised of four stages— information gathering, developing relationships, exploitation, and execution. We also revealed that social engineering is so effective because it uses human nature, with reference to statistics in the Black Hat Survey 2016.

Furthermore, case studies of social engineering, such as CEO fraud, financial phishing, social media phishing, ransomware phishing, and Bitcoin phishing have been investigated.

In addition, we analyzed the top 10 industries registered...