Johnson, an attacker, performed online research for the contact details of reputed cybersecurity firms.

https://www.eccouncil.org/what-is-social-engineering/

This Social Engineering scam involves an exchange of information that can benefit both the victim and the trickster. Scammers would make the prey believe that a fair exchange will be present between both sides, but in reality, only the fraudster stands to benefit, leaving the victim hanging on to nothing. An example of a Quid Pro Quo is a scammer pretending to be an IT support technician. The con artist asks for the login credentials of the company’s computer saying that the company is going to receive technical support in return. Once the victim has provided the credentials, the scammer now has control over the company’s computer and may possibly load malware or steal personal information that can be a motive to commit identity theft.

"A quid pro quo attack (aka something for something” attack) is a variant of baiting. Instead of baiting a target with the promise of a good, a quid pro quo attack promises a service or a benefit based on the execution of a specific action." https://resources.infosecinstitute.com/topic/common-social-engineering-attacks/#:~:text=A%20quid%20pro%20quo%20attack,execution%20of%20a%20specific%20action.