The Science of Social Engineering with Chris Hadnagy
Easy Prey7 Juni 2023

The Science of Social Engineering with Chris Hadnagy

You may be shocked to know that master manipulators utilize special tactics to impact human behavior and emotions by more than just instilling a sense of urgency. The art of persuasion can be used for both good and evil. Today's guest is Chris Hadnagy. Chris is the author of five books on the topic of social engineering. He is a professor of social engineering at the University of Arizona as well as the CEO of Social Engineer LLC, the Innocent Lives Foundation, and the Institute for Social Engineering.

Show Notes:
  • [0:57] - Chris shares his background and how he found himself in the field of social engineering and understanding human decision making.

  • [2:38] - It is not the case that only stupid people fall for scams and phishing emails.

  • [4:04] - There is good social engineering and Chris gives some examples.

  • [5:47] - The release of oxytocin is researched to show that it is linked to trust.

  • [7:58] - You can have oxytocin and dopamine separately but together they build a bond.

  • [9:17] - Marketing and advertising land in the gray middle area of social engineering. Is it being used for good or bad?

  • [11:14] - It is important to look at things through the lens of purpose. What is the intent behind it?

  • [12:35] - All social engineering, good and bad, use the same principles. But malicious social engineering triggers different emotions, namely fear.

  • [14:37] - Preying on fear is one way people are socially engineered, but Chris gives an example of how a company as large as Toyota was impacted by the sense of urgency.

  • [17:12] - There are so many stories of social engineering that are extremely plausible and believable.

  • [21:04] - The trend now is to use social media data and information to target people for spear phishing.

  • [22:30] - If you feel any strong emotion after a request, it is a great time to pause and consider if you are being manipulated.

  • [24:21] - If you ever fall for something, don't let embarrassment make you sweep it under the rug.

  • [27:31] - The idea of an authority figure is a principle to remember, but it doesn't always work.

  • [30:10] - In some countries, fear of authority isn't present. But social engineers will look for the weaknesses to exploit in different environments.

  • [31:16] - Voice phishing is currently on the rise.

  • [33:21] - Chris shares about the uptick on LinkedIn requests that even targeted the US military.

  • [35:28] - Although we will see some good from AI, Chris has many concerns.

  • [37:33] - Chris describes some of the classes he teaches at the University of Arizona specifically about Social Engineering.

  • [39:17] - You can take classes online from Chris on Social-Engineer.com.

  • [40:21] - We need to understand social engineering to keep our children safe. Start having conversations early.

Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.

Links and Resources:

Avsnitt(321)

Art Heists

Art Heists

The world of art theft looks glamorous in the movies, but the reality is far more complicated. From multi-million dollar forgery schemes to undercover FBI operations recovering stolen national treasur...

29 Apr 37min

The Power of Prediction

The Power of Prediction

We make predictions all the time including about the weather, about traffic, about what someone is going to say next. It feels natural, even rational. But when algorithms start making predictions abou...

22 Apr 39min

Privacy vs Reality

Privacy vs Reality

Online security advice often sounds simple until you actually try to follow it. Between password managers, privacy settings, and data brokers, protecting yourself can start to feel like a full-time jo...

15 Apr 58min

Wired to Trust

Wired to Trust

It's easy to think scams only work when someone misses something obvious. In reality, most of them don't look obvious at the start. They show up as normal situations with just enough friction to notic...

8 Apr 41min

Intimate Partner Fraud

Intimate Partner Fraud

Most scams leave a digital trail. A fake email, a spoofed number, a fraudulent website. You can trace them, report them, sometimes even reverse them. But what happens when the scam has no digital trai...

1 Apr 45min

Identity without Passwords

Identity without Passwords

Every day, employees at hotels, restaurants, and resorts across the country are doing exactly what they were hired to do: being warm, responsive, and eager to help. It's what makes hospitality work. I...

25 Mars 38min

When Cybercrime Gets Personal

When Cybercrime Gets Personal

Most security breaches don't begin with sophisticated code or elaborate technical exploits. They begin with a phone call, a convincing email, or someone at a help desk who just wanted to be helpful. T...

18 Mars 45min

Stopping Phone Scams

Stopping Phone Scams

Phone scams get dismissed as background noise or just annoying interruptions and unknown numbers with robotic voices we learn to ignore. But behind that noise is an industry built on psychology, autom...

11 Mars 45min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

aftonbladet-krim
rss-krimstad
p3-krim
spar
svenska-fall
aftonbladet-daily
politiken
flashback-forever
rss-expressen-dok
rss-sanning-konsekvens
rss-krimreportrarna
kungligt
ett-rent-noje
rss-vad-fan-hande
motiv
blenda-2
grans
rss-frandfors-horna
rss-flodet
krimmagasinet