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26th out of 58 books
—
34 voters
Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking
The first book to reveal and dissect the technical aspect of many social engineering maneuversFrom elicitation, pretexting, influence and manipulation all aspects of social engineering are picked apart, discussed and explained by using real world examples, personal experience and the science behind them to unraveled the mystery in social engineering.
Kevin Mitnick--one of t...more
Kevin Mitnick--one of t...more
Paperback, 382 pages
Published
December 21st 2010
by Wiley Publishing
(first published November 29th 2010)
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Let me start by saying that Social Engineering is one of the two areas of information security where I have specialized (in addition to application security), so I was looking forward to this book, and, undoubtedly, I set my expectations too highly.
Here is a big part of where my excitement originated: this book is one of the first books to pull together commentary on the types of things social engineers have known and been doing. This book, as well as social-engineer.org and _No Tech Hacking_ ar...more
Here is a big part of where my excitement originated: this book is one of the first books to pull together commentary on the types of things social engineers have known and been doing. This book, as well as social-engineer.org and _No Tech Hacking_ ar...more
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Nothing earth-shattering here. The book is a whole lot less about the contemporary cyber-based social-engineering that many think about when they hear the term (for many of us, that term was probably introduced in the context of cyber scams) and a whole lot more about the art of social interaction.
The table of contents gives a good overview of the framework. The two most interesting chapters are on elicitation (arranging an interaction in order to get the results you're looking for) and influen...more
The table of contents gives a good overview of the framework. The two most interesting chapters are on elicitation (arranging an interaction in order to get the results you're looking for) and influen...more
An easy read.
The audience is not clear, but I do not believe it needs to be. The fact that the author repeatedly talks throughout about techniques you can use to social engineer, but then closes the book out with a chapter on "Prevention and Mitigation" highlighted, to me, that the book was designed more as a wake-up call to those, like the CEO he mentions in one of his case study, that believe themselves immune from the potentially negative effects of social engineering.
I find it interesting...more
The audience is not clear, but I do not believe it needs to be. The fact that the author repeatedly talks throughout about techniques you can use to social engineer, but then closes the book out with a chapter on "Prevention and Mitigation" highlighted, to me, that the book was designed more as a wake-up call to those, like the CEO he mentions in one of his case study, that believe themselves immune from the potentially negative effects of social engineering.
I find it interesting...more
I think e everyone that has the time should take the time to read or listen to this book on audio...i think the audio version is great...i This book provids insight on the weakest link in any security program. He shows that hacking access to a system doesn't mean the bad guys even need to touch a keyboard. They just a phone and with a bit of research are able to talk their way into gaining access.
The author clearly outlines the steps of a social engineering attack. The book starts with the resea...more
The author clearly outlines the steps of a social engineering attack. The book starts with the resea...more
I'm not so sure what to think. In one hand, it was a really amazing reading, so much advices that can change the way you communicate and maintain relationships with people. Understanding what motivates a person can be a life-improving knowledge. In the other hand, all the dark side of manipulation, like producing emotional breakdowns to your target, or fear of damage, can lead you to obscure and unethical behavior. This book is so much more than just "hacking" people, or manipulating them. It te...more
Christopher Hadnagy's worldview is suspect. Under the guise of showing his readers how to prevent falling prey to shysters trying to defraud them, he is really teaching his readers how to manipulate and fool people into doing what is wanted. Again and again he exhorts his readers to not break the law, yet much of what he recommends would be considered unethical and immoral by anyone who believes in respect for others. Bad stuff.
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This book was a very nice blend of technology, social rules and customs, and even psychology--Hadnagy has definitely done his homework. The good thing is that Hadnagy wrote this book to help people--and organizations--increase their security.
I'm thankful that the author is writing this book to help us protect ourselves...rather than using the information to scam us like he could!
Although it was an interesting read, it only got 3 stars due to the focus on organizations--I would have liked to hav...more
I'm thankful that the author is writing this book to help us protect ourselves...rather than using the information to scam us like he could!
Although it was an interesting read, it only got 3 stars due to the focus on organizations--I would have liked to hav...more
A very good introduction to social engineering that explains the basics and intricacies of a wide range of psychological topics, such as micro-expressions, influence and neurolinguistic programming. Plenty of real-world examples; delves into ethics and the necessity of awareness for security
Great book, I learned a lot about what I need to be careful of in the future when developing security protocols. Also, a million vectors for books to read came out of reading this, and that in itself made it an invaluable read. After having finished something like this, I'm going straight for one of my yet to read Paul Ekman books. Oh, humans.
This book is very comprehensive, and treats the issues well. I like that he is skeptical about the efficacy of, for example, lie detection, and that he treats humans as complex creatures. I really enjoyed the book. Really good overview.
Very comprehensive and complete guide to performing social engineering penetration testing.
I am loving this book, it displays so many aspects of social behavior, physiology, phychology and human nature, it's unbelievable.
I am loving this book, it displays so many aspects of social behavior, physiology, phychology and human nature, it's unbelievable.
Eminently skimable. I'd advise the lay reader to skip to the case studies at the end. The professional will probably find the technical information out of date. Not sure who this was meant for.
This was an excellent book. Normally, I don't read books like this one cover to cover. I browse through them, looking at interesting parts, and then they sit on my shelf until I want to reference something in them. That almost happened with this book. I read about half way through it back in March, and then started reading some other things. About a week ago, I picked it back up and had a hard time putting it down. The explanations in the book are great, and the material is fascinating. It is sc...more
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I'm listing to the book and one of three things is going on:
1) It's an awful book
2) The author is reading the book and he's no narrator
3) It's actually a reference book and should not actually be read at all
It's so had to listen to that I've taken 2 breaks from it and gone thru entire other books. But, the content is semi-interesting so I keep going back. More when I finish!
1) It's an awful book
2) The author is reading the book and he's no narrator
3) It's actually a reference book and should not actually be read at all
It's so had to listen to that I've taken 2 breaks from it and gone thru entire other books. But, the content is semi-interesting so I keep going back. More when I finish!
I thought "Art of Deception" was the best book out there on the subject of social engineering, and then I read this.... Outstanding.
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Its a good introduction. But if you are already involved in some kind of SE, its average.
The real world of social manipulation through social engineering techniques.
Interesting, but way too credulous on the NLP nonsense.
Don't bother. He's full of himself.
Mar 07, 2013
Jaro
added it
The best I've read about this subject.
A typical american-style book - too much repetition and redundancy of words.
Other than that, it is a nice systematic review of social engineering methods.
And while reading this book I realized why we shouldn't share every bit of information about ourselves in social networks (it's not like I didn't know it, but now I understand it). However, not sharing information on social networks also is information that can be used, so I conclude with same as the author: security through education. Need to...more
Other than that, it is a nice systematic review of social engineering methods.
And while reading this book I realized why we shouldn't share every bit of information about ourselves in social networks (it's not like I didn't know it, but now I understand it). However, not sharing information on social networks also is information that can be used, so I conclude with same as the author: security through education. Need to...more
Oct 02, 2012
Amar Mahi
is currently reading it
first
This book gives a good overview of how we get hacked and/or taken advantage of. It's great insight into how trusting we can be and how others can use this to exploit us. There are parts that are way too technical for most of us but overall the book was worth reading.
Nice facts, useful tipps.
I prefer Ghost in the Wires over this book, but still interesting stories. The second part of the book is extremely boring and not needed as the the average person would have picked up the lessons from the first part and come to their own conclusions about the security flaws which were breached.
This book just amazing!!!
So much valuable information, very fun and easy to read! Priceless!
Must read if you do security audit or just interested in social engineering!
This is also one of the best psychological book so worth a look even if you not interested in IT
So much valuable information, very fun and easy to read! Priceless!
Must read if you do security audit or just interested in social engineering!
This is also one of the best psychological book so worth a look even if you not interested in IT
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I'm not sure how I feel about this book. It is a handbook for social engineer. It opens your eyes about some tricks social engineers and con people do to trick you.
3.5/5
3.5/5
A lot of interesting stuff, especially for someone into Pen Testing or other pseudo-legal practices (white-hat, *of course*)
Interesting book. Good use of examples to help reader understand concepts.
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