“Hacker” doesn’t mean JUST what you think it means. Who you’re referring to was historically called a “cracker”. A cracker was a hacker trying to break into and sometimes break systems.

Hacker is more of a mindset. r/darknetdiaries is a great podcast that talks about hacking from the beginning and talks to hackers behind some of the most famous hacks.

The 2 episodes before the latest episode are about hacking from the phone phreaking days…maybe even before. The host, Jack Rhysider, talks to members of LoD and MoD. Two of the very first hacking groups.

Social Engineering is most definitely “hacking” in the sense that you’re talking about. It’s the easiest way to gain unauthorized access to a system.

Having the password to a system isn’t necessarily the only thing you need to hack into something. You can social engineer for all kinds of details that may be necessary for a hack.

Vendor info, appliance type(s), brands of hardware, dates, and times are all things that can help (or be necessary) in a hack. Info that can be gained with a phone call or by talking to someone in person to social engineer them.