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K-State Today

September 19, 2016

Sociology, anthropology and social work faculty receive grant from National Science Foundation to study social engineering

Submitted by Kevin Steinmetz

Kevin Steinmetz and Richard Goe, faculty members in the sociology, anthropology and social work department, were recently awarded a research grant from the National Science Foundation.

The researchers received more than $350,000 in funding for three years to study social engineering, which is the process of manipulating people for the purposes of gaining unauthorized access to sensitive information or otherwise secure information technology systems.

Data will be gathered through interviews with social engineers, security auditors and information technology professionals to understand the phenomenon as a social process and a subcultural practice.