Have you ever fallen victim to a phishing scam? Why are these scams so successful? Scams are based on specific attributes of individual decision-making processes known as cognitive biases or bugs in the human system. Social engineering is developing the art of persuasion to gather confidential information from individuals that would normally not disclose this data. A successful social engineer does not need to solely rely on hard technical skills to access information systems. This is a project-based course that will provide examination of historical exploits and develop the necessary skills to successfully use the art of social engineering to access confidential information in a corporate environment and develop defense measures.
Learning Objectives
1. Examine and evaluate the psychology and sociology areas of study and the impact they have on social engineering efforts.
2. Explore the current and historical perspective of social engineering.
3. Create, perform, and document a social engineering project that is both ethical and legal.
Framework Connections
The materials within this course focus on the NICE Framework Task, Knowledge, and Skill statements identified within the indicated NICE Framework component(s):
Specialty Areas
- All-Source Analysis
- Collection Operations
- Targets
- Threat Analysis
- Vulnerability Assessment and Management
Feedback
If you would like to provide feedback for this course, please e-mail the NICCS SO at NICCS@hq.dhs.gov.