Chris Pritchard - The Basics of Social Engineering - DEF CON 27 Social Engineering Village
Channel: DEFCONConference
Date: 2019-11-21

Ever wanted to get into Social Engineering (SE), but thought you needed to know body language, facial expressions, be charming, and outgoing to succeed? This is a common misconception and you don’t need to know or be those things to make a start in SE. I think most SE talks focus on the more technical “human” aspects and I’m purposefully ignoring that side.

I’m going to focus on the basics; how to perform reconnaissance, how to match dress styles, how to make up a pretext that fits your knowledge, how to get real staff to help you, what to do if you do get in, why you should interact with staff, and why you should practice being observant. These are important tools to learn and use, which can help you make a start in social engineering.

Chris Pritchard: @ghostie_
Chris has worked in a range of industries, most notable of which are Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), and leading edge design and manufacturing (Dyson). Doing so has given Chris a very varied array of knowledge, from penetration testing robot vacuum cleaners, to designing and testing secure SCADA networks.

During Chris’ time at Dyson, he was involved in developing the global security team and performing internal penetration testing. Chris was also heavily involved with securing the design of Dyson’s current and future internet connected appliances, and corresponding smartphone applications.
More recently, Chris has been conducting ever more security tests and audits of ICS in the rail, air, maritime, and utilities sectors, as well as CNI work at nuclear sites. Chris’ skill set also includes Social Engineering, and has successfully gained access into CNI, Airports and Casinos, which are regarded are some of the most secure facilities in the industry.