Deceptionology 101: Introduction to the Dark Arts
07/06/21 • 61 min
Have you ever noticed how fundamental deception is to the human condition? Deception and forms of social engineering have been with us since the beginning of recorded history. And yet, it seems like we are just as vulnerable to it as ever. But now the stakes are higher because technology allows social engineers to deceive at scale.
This episode explores the psychology of deception, provides a foundation for understanding social engineering, offers a few mental models for exploration and exploitation, and discusses how we can prepare our mental defenses.
Guests:
- Rachael Tobac: (LinkedIn), CEO of SocialProof Security
- Chris Hadnagy: (LinkedIn); CEO of Social Engineer, LLC; Founder of Innocent Lives Foundation; Founder of Social-Engineer.org
- Lisa Forte: (LinkedIn); Partner at Red Goat Cyber Security; Co-Founder Cyber Volunteers 19
- George Finney: (LinkedIn); Chief Security Officer at Southern Methodist University; Founder of Well Aware Security
Notes & Resources:
- CSO Online article on Social Engineering
- OODA Loop
- Understanding Framing Effects
- More examples of Framing Effects
- Harvard Business Review article on the Principles of Persuasion
- A blog series I did on Deception (Part 1), (Part 2).
- PsychologyToday article on Social Engineering
Recommended Books (Amazon affiliate links):
- The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security by Kevin Mitnick
- Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker by Kevin Mitnick
- Human Hacking: Win Friends, Influence People, and Leave Them Better Off for Having Met You by Chris Hadnagy
- Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
- Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade by Robert Cialdini
- Practical Social Engineering: A Primer for the Ethical Hacker by Joe Gray
- Social Engineering: The Science of Human Hacking by Chris Hadnagy
- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.
- Transformational Security Awareness: What Neuroscientists, Storytellers, and Marketers Can Teach Us About Driving Secure Behaviors by Perry Carpenter
- Well Aware: Master the Nine Cybersecurity Habits to Protect Your Future by George Finney
Music and Sound Effects by Blue Dot Sessions & Storyblocks.
Artwork by Chris Machowski.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Have you ever noticed how fundamental deception is to the human condition? Deception and forms of social engineering have been with us since the beginning of recorded history. And yet, it seems like we are just as vulnerable to it as ever. But now the stakes are higher because technology allows social engineers to deceive at scale.
This episode explores the psychology of deception, provides a foundation for understanding social engineering, offers a few mental models for exploration and exploitation, and discusses how we can prepare our mental defenses.
Guests:
- Rachael Tobac: (LinkedIn), CEO of SocialProof Security
- Chris Hadnagy: (LinkedIn); CEO of Social Engineer, LLC; Founder of Innocent Lives Foundation; Founder of Social-Engineer.org
- Lisa Forte: (LinkedIn); Partner at Red Goat Cyber Security; Co-Founder Cyber Volunteers 19
- George Finney: (LinkedIn); Chief Security Officer at Southern Methodist University; Founder of Well Aware Security
Notes & Resources:
- CSO Online article on Social Engineering
- OODA Loop
- Understanding Framing Effects
- More examples of Framing Effects
- Harvard Business Review article on the Principles of Persuasion
- A blog series I did on Deception (Part 1), (Part 2).
- PsychologyToday article on Social Engineering
Recommended Books (Amazon affiliate links):
- The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security by Kevin Mitnick
- Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World's Most Wanted Hacker by Kevin Mitnick
- Human Hacking: Win Friends, Influence People, and Leave Them Better Off for Having Met You by Chris Hadnagy
- Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
- Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade by Robert Cialdini
- Practical Social Engineering: A Primer for the Ethical Hacker by Joe Gray
- Social Engineering: The Science of Human Hacking by Chris Hadnagy
- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.
- Transformational Security Awareness: What Neuroscientists, Storytellers, and Marketers Can Teach Us About Driving Secure Behaviors by Perry Carpenter
- Well Aware: Master the Nine Cybersecurity Habits to Protect Your Future by George Finney
Music and Sound Effects by Blue Dot Sessions & Storyblocks.
Artwork by Chris Machowski.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Previous Episode
This is BS!
Ever wrestled with the fact that people often make horrible security decisions even though their employers have security awareness programs in place? It's often because we assume that being aware of something should naturally result in better behavior. Well... that's not the case. This episode takes a deep dive into the knowledge-intention-behavior gap where we are confronted with three realities of security awareness. And those realities lead us to the realization that we need to focus on behavior.
Guests for this episode are all leaders in the fields of Behavioral Science. They are, BJ Fogg, Ph.D., author of Tiny Habits: the Small Changes that Change Everything, Matt Wallaert, author of Start at the End: How to Build Products That Create Change, and Alexandra Alhadeff, co-author of Deep Thought: A Cybersecurity Story.
Guests:
- BJ Fogg, Ph.D.. -- Behavior Scientist & Innovator at Stanford University. (Personal website) Author of Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. (Amazon link)
- Matt Wallaert -- Head of Behavioral Science at frog (a Capgemini company). Author of Start at the End: How to Build Products That Create Change (Amazon link)
- Alexandra Alhadeff -- Behavioral Scientist & Product Manager at The Fabulous. (Personal website)
Notes & Resources:
- BJ Fogg testimony to the 2006 US Federal Trade Commission about the dangers of persuasive technology.
- Fogg Behavior Model
- About Nudge Theory
- Multiple examples of Nudging
- Great catalog of Dark Patterns
- Ideas42 cybersecurity-related behavioral science research.
- Deep Thought: A Cybersecurity Story, by Ideas42.
Recommended Books (Amazon affiliate links):
- Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything, by BJ Fogg, Ph.D.
- Start at the End: How to Build Products That Create Change, by Matt Wallaert
- Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness, by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein
- Inside the Nudge Unit: How Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference, by David Halpern
- Evil by Design: Interaction Design to Lead Us into Temptation by Chris Nodder
- Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.
- Transformational Security Awareness: What Neuroscientists, Storytellers, and Marketers Can Teach Us About Driving Secure Behaviors by Perry Carpenter.
Music and Sound Effects by Blue Dot Sessions & Storyblocks.
Artwork by Chris Machowski.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Next Episode
Going Meta: A Conversation and AMA with Bruce Schneier
In this episode, Perry Carpenter interviews cybersecurity guru Bruce Schneier. Perry and Bruce explore how cybersecurity is about so much more than technology — It’s about people, so we benefit by taking a multidisciplinary approach.
In preparing for this interview, Perry solicited his LinkedIn network to see what questions people had for Bruce. This is a wide ranging conversation covering everything from Bruce’s thoughts on cybersecurity’s “first principles” to the impact that the pandemic had on society to need for regulation to help raise the overall standards for security and privacy.
Guest: Bruce Schneier (https://www.schneier.com/blog/about/) (https://twitter.com/schneierblog)
- Bruce's personal website 'about me' page: https://www.schneier.com/blog/about/
- Wikipedia article about Bruce Schneier: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Schneier
- Another background article about Bruce: https://www.cybersecurityeducationguides.org/bruce-schneier-legendary-cryptographer/
- More Background on Bruce: http://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Bruce_Schneier
- Bruce's Solitaire encryption algorithm: https://www.schneier.com/academic/solitaire/
- More info on the Solitaire algorithm: https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2019/10/more_cryptanaly.html
- Proximity Blindness: https://dannyozment.com/cant-see-the-forest-for-the-trees-the-dangers-of-proximity-blindness-2/
- The story of the Blind Men and an Elephant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant
- Cryptography After the Aliens Land: https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2018/09/cryptography_after_t.html
- Secrets and Lies book preface with "If you think" quote: https://www.schneier.com/books/secrets-and-lies-pref/
- "if you think cryptography" quote: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19589899
Recommended Books (Amazon affiliate links):
- Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms and Source Code in C, by Bruce Schneier
- Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly About Security in an Uncertain World, by Bruce Schneier
- Click Here to Kill Everybody: Security and Survival in a Hyper-connected World, by Bruce Schneier
- Cryptography Apocalypse: Preparing for the Day When Quantum Computing Breaks Today's Crypto, by Roger Grimes
- Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World, by Bruce Schneier
- Liars and Outliers: Enabling the Trust that Society Needs to Thrive, by Bruce Schneier
- Secrets and Lies: Digital Security in a Networked World, by Bruce Schneier
- Transformational Security Awareness: What Neuroscientists, Storytellers, and Marketers Can Teach Us About Driving Secure Behaviors by Perry Carpenter
Music and Sound Effects by Blue Dot Sessions & Storyblocks.
Artwork by Chris Machowski.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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