Hacking the Human: Social Engineering Techniques and Security Countermeasures

by Ian Mann

Information security is about people, yet in most organizations protection remains focused on technical countermeasures. The human element is crucial in the majority of successful attacks on systems and attackers are rarely required to find technical vulnerabilities, hacking the human is usually sufficient. Ian Mann turns the black art of social engineering into an information security risk that can be understood, measured and managed effectively. The text highlights the main sources of risk from social engineering and draws on psychological models to explain the basis for human vulnerabilities. Chapters on vulnerability mapping, developing a range of protection systems and awareness training provide a practical and authoritative guide to the risks and countermeasures that are available. There is a singular lack of useful information for security and IT professionals regarding the human vulnerabilities that social engineering attacks tend to exploit. Ian Mann provides a rich mix of examples, applied research and practical solutions that will enable you to assess the level of risk in your organization; measure the strength of your current security and enhance your training and systemic countermeasures accordingly. If you are responsible for physical or information security or the protection of your business and employees from significant risk, then Hacking the Human is a must-read.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Sociology

264 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2008

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

quite a short book, but still a good introduction to, and packed with a lot of good advice on, developing a strategy to deal with the people side of information security. Definitly not enough to get you through it completely, but if you're a techie involved in security, or a manager of staff in public contact roles something you should read.

[Dave Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to the reasons why people fall for social engineering techniques. Not too academic and did leave me feeling I wanted to read more and obtain more depth.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very self explanatory book. A lot of this I already know how to do, but I love social engineering, so it's all good.

3.1/5