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Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking
book

Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking

by Christopher Hadnagy
December 2010
Beginner content levelBeginner
404 pages
11h 8m
English
Wiley
Content preview from Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking

Chapter 3. Elicitation

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

——SUN TZU

Being able to effectively draw people out is a skill that can make or break a social engineer. When people see you and talk to you they should feel at ease and want to open up.

Have you ever met someone and instantly felt, "Wow I like that person"? Why? What was it about him that made you feel that way? Was it his smile? The way he looked? The way he treated you? His body language?

Maybe he even seemed to be "in tune" with your thoughts and desires. The way he looked at you was non-judgmental and right away you felt at ease with him.

Now imagine you can tap into that and master that ability. Don't shrug off this chapter as a simple "how to build rapport" lesson. This chapter is about elicitation, a powerful technique used by spies, con men, and social engineers, as well as doctors, therapists, and law enforcement, and if you want to be protected or be a great social engineer auditor then you need to master this skill. Used effectively, elicitation can produce astounding results.

What is elicitation? Very few aspects of social engineering are as powerful as elicitation. This is one of the reasons it is near the top of the framework. This skill alone can change the way people view you. From a social engineering standpoint, it can change the way you practice security. This chapter dissects examples of expert elicitation and delves deep into how to utilize this powerful skill in a social ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780470639535