HS 347 – FBF – The Art of Human Hacking with Chris Hadnagy

Today’s Flash Back Friday comes from Episode 111, October 2012.

We have all had the experience of being taken advantage of at some point in our life. Con artists are often very friendly and charming. Jason Hartman is joined by author, Chris Hadnagy to discuss social engineering and framing, and how it relates to personal, business and national security issues. The discussion centers on Chris’ book, Social Engineering:  The Art of Human Hacking. Chris defines social engineering as “any act that influences a person to take an action that may or may not be in their best interest.” He talks about the most important aspects of human hacking, such as influence – establishing rapport and asking for someone’s help. Other aspects include reciprocity, concessions and social proof. Chris also explains the process of framing.  Our framing is our foundation, our beliefs and morals, and social engineers work to understand a person’s framing, looking for common ground.

Chris Hadnagy, aka loganWHD, has been involved with computers and technology for over 14 years. Presently his focus is on the “human” aspect of technology such as social engineering and physical security. Chris has spent time in providing training in many topics around the globe and also has had many articles published in local, national and international magazines and journals

Chris is a student of Paul Ekman’s training classes on Microexpressions and has spent time learning and educating others on the values of nonverbal communications.  He has combined what he learned with years of experience in a new research he has called nonverbal human hacking used to influence other people’s emotions.

He is also the lead developer of Social-Engineer.Org, as well as the author of the best-selling book, Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking. He has launched a line of professional social engineering training and penetration testing services at www.Social-Engineer.com. His goal is to help companies remain secure by educating them on the methods the “bad guys” use. Analyzing, studying, dissecting, then performing the very same attacks used by malicious hackers on some of the most recent attacks (i.e. Sony, HB Gary, LockHeed Martin, etc), Chris is able to help companies stay educated and secure.

Chris runs one of the web’s very popular security podcasts, the Social-Engineer.Org Podcast, which spends time each month analyzing someone who has to use influence and persuasion in their daily lives. By dissecting what they do, we can learn how we can enhance our abilities.  That same analysis runs over to the equally popular SEORG Newsletter.  After two years, both of these have become a staple in most serious security practices and are used by Fortune 500 companies around the world to educate their staff.  Chris can be found online at www.social-engineer.org, www.social-engineer.com and Twitter as @humanhacker.