Unmasking the Social Engineer: The Human Element of Security

Introduction

I have taught myself to notice what I see.

—Sherlock Holmes

When I decided to write another book, I needed to spend some time thinking about the topic I wanted to cover. My Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking (Wiley, 2011) was one of the first books to walk the reader through all the skills that comprise an expert social engineer. These skills are flat, though, because you practice them and master them—there are no advanced topics.

Social Engineering is a simple and basic book that outlines what social engineering is and what I feel it takes to develop and use social engineering skills in your daily life. In addition, as many of my readers have noticed, I had to adjust my understanding, thinking, and training to come more in line with proven scientific facts.

As I thought about what excited me about social engineering and what skills I found helped me the most, I started to reflect on the journey I had taken over the last few years.

I've always found the psychology and physiology of human interaction fascinating. Although I do not have a degree in either field, I believe understanding these aspects of communication can enhance your ability to understand, interpret, and utilize skills related to these aspects in everyday communications.

As I began my research, I headed to a bookstore and bought books on particular topics that piqued my interest. This is when I first saw the books Emotions Revealed and Unmasking the Face by Dr. Paul Ekman. I bought them and ...