Christopher Hadnagy - Social Engineering

1. Chapter 2

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 6
5. Chapter 7
6. Chapter 8
7. Chapter 9
8. Chapter 10

Christopher Hadnagy

Social Engineering: The Science of Human Hacking

Published by
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
10475 Crosspoint Boulevard
Indianapolis, IN 46256
www.wiley.com

Copyright 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-1-119-43338-5

ISBN: 978-1-119-43373-6 (ebk)

ISBN: 978-1-119-43375-0 (ebk)

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

For general information on our other products and services please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (877) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018943781

Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

My whole life that I live as a social engineer, a father, husband, boss, friend, and more doesn't happen without my amazing wife, Areesa. I love you more than words can say.

My son, Colin, watching you grow up in this world and become a security-minded young man, as well as working with me, makes all the work worthwhile. I love you.

Amaya, you have been the light of my life, my reason for smiles on dark days, and the cause of joy in my heart. I cannot put into words how much I love you and how truly proud I am of who you are as a person.

CHRISTOPHER HADNAGY is the CEO and Chief Human Hacker of Social-Engineer, LLC as well as the lead developer and creator of the world's first social engineering framework found at www.social-engineer.org. He is the founder and creator of the Social Engineering Village (SEVillage) at DEF CON and DerbyCon, as well as the creator of the popular Social Engineering Capture The Flag (SECTF). He is a sought-after speaker and trainer and has traveled the globe to deliver at many events including RSA, Black Hat, DEF CON, and even has debriefed the Pentagon on these topics. He can be found tweeting at @humanhacker.

MICHELE FINCHER is the Information Security Awareness Lead at a specialty chemical company. She possesses more than 20 years' experience as a behavioral scientist, researcher, and information security professional. Her specialty is understanding the psychology behind secure decision-making, particularly with respect to the area of social engineering.

Michele has been a trainer and speaker on various technical and behavioral subjects for law enforcement, the intelligence community, and the private sector in venues including the Black Hat Briefings, RSA, SourceCon, SC Congress, Interop, and Techno Security.

Michele has her Bachelor of Science in Human Factors Engineering from the US Air Force Academy and her Master of Science in Counseling from Auburn University. She is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

• PROJECT EDITOR
• Charlotte Kughen
• TECHNICAL EDITOR
• Michele Fincher
• PRODUCTION EDITOR
• Athiyappan Lalith Kumar
• COPY EDITOR
• Kathryn Duggan
• PRODUCTION MANAGER
• Katie Wisor
• MANAGER OF CONTENT ENABLEMENT AND OPERATIONS
• Pete Gaughan
• MARKETING MANAGER
• Christie Hilbrich
• EXECUTIVE EDITOR
• Jim Minatel
• PROJECT COORDINATOR, COVER
• Brent Savage
• PROOFREADER
• Nancy Bell
• INDEXER
• Johnna VanHoose
• COVER DESIGNER
• Wiley
• COVER IMAGE
• Background Floriana /iStockphoto;
• Author Photo Amaya Hadnagy Photography, 2018

It was just a few years ago that I was sitting with my friend and mentor, Mati Aharoni, deciding to launch www.social-engineer.org.

Those are the opening words of Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking. As I sit here and read them now, it's almost like a dream; the hazy memory makes me feel like I will wake up any minute. I reflect on the journey that has taken me through the past decade, and especially the last eight years, and it has all come to life in this book.