The first book to reveal and dissect the technical aspect ofmany social engineering maneuversFrom elicitation, pretexting, influence and manipulation allaspects of social engineering are picked apart, discussed andexplained by using real world examples, personal experience and thescience behind them to unraveled the mystery in socialengineering.Kevin Mitnick--one of the most famous social engineers inthe world--popularized the term "socialengineering." He explained that it is much easier to tricksomeone into revealing a password for a system than to exert theeffort of hacking into the system. Mitnick claims that this socialengineering tactic was the single-most effective method in hisarsenal. This indispensable book examines a variety of maneuversthat are aimed at deceiving unsuspecting victims, while it alsoaddresses ways to prevent social engineering threats.* Examines social engineering, the science of influencing atarget to perform a desired task or divulge information* Arms you with invaluable information about the many methods oftrickery that hackers use in order to gather information with theintent of executing identity theft, fraud, or gaining computersystem access* Reveals vital steps for preventing social engineeringthreatsSocial Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking does itspart to prepare you against nefarious hackers--now you can doyour part by putting to good use the critical information withinits pages.

Foreword xiiiPreface and Acknowledgments xvii1 A Look into the World of Social Engineering 1Why This Book Is So Valuable 3Overview of Social Engineering 9Summary 212 Information Gathering 23Gathering Information 26Sources for Information Gathering 33Communication Modeling 43The Power of Communication Models 533 Elicitation 55What Is Elicitation? 56The Goals of Elicitation 58Mastering Elicitation 74Summary 764 Pretexting: How to Become Anyone 77What Is Pretexting? 78The Principles and Planning Stages of Pretexting 79Successful Pretexting 91Summary 995 Mind Tricks: Psychological Principles Used in Social Engineering 101Modes of Thinking 103Microexpressions 109Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) 136Interview and Interrogation 143Building Instant Rapport 162The Human Buffer Overflow 172Summary 1786 Influence: The Power of Persuasion 181The Five Fundamentals of Influence and Persuasion 182Influence Tactics 187Altering Reality: Framing 215Manipulation: Controlling Your Target 233Manipulation in Social Engineering 248Summary 2567 The Tools of the Social Engineer 259Physical Tools 260Online Information-Gathering Tools 279Summary 2978 Case Studies: Dissecting the Social Engineer 299Mitnick Case Study 1: Hacking the DMV 300Mitnick Case Study 2: Hacking the Social Security Administration 306Hadnagy Case Study 1: The Overconfident CEO 310Hadnagy Case Study 2: The Theme Park Scandal 317Top-Secret Case Study 1: Mission Not Impossible 322Top-Secret Case Study 2: Social Engineering a Hacker 329Why Case Studies Are Important 337Summary 3389 Prevention and Mitigation 339Learning to Identify Social Engineering Attacks 340Creating a Personal Security Awareness Culture 341Being Aware of the Value of the Information You Are Being Asked For 344Keeping Software Updated 347Developing Scripts 348Learning from Social Engineering Audits 348Concluding Remarks 354Summary 361Index 363