The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security

371 Pages·2002·0.97 MB·English

by  Kevin D. Mitnick

T H E A R T O F
D E C E P T I O N
C o n t r o l l i n g t h e H u m a n E l e m e n t o f S e c u r i t y
KEVIN D. MITNICK
& William L. Simon

T H E A R T O F
D E C E P T I O N
C o n t r o l l i n g t h e H u m a n E l e m e n t o f S e c u r i t y
KEVIN D. MITNICK
& William L. Simon
Publisher: Robert Ipsen
Editor: Carol Long
Developmental Editor: Nancy Stevenson
Managing Editor: John Atkins
Interior Design: Marie Kristine Parial-Leonardo
Text Design & Composition: Wiley Composition Services
Chart Design: Stacey Kirkland
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This book is printed on acid-free paper. ∞
Copyright © 2002 by Kevin D. Mitnick. All rights reserved.
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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ISBN: 0-471-23712-4
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Reba Vartanian, Shelly Jaffe, Chickie Leventhal, and Mitchell
Mitnick, and for the late Alan Mitnick, Adam Mitnick,
and Jack Biello
For Arynne, Victoria, and David, Sheldon,
Vincent, and Elena
Social Engineering
s
ocial engineering uses influence and persuasion to deceive people
by convincing them that the social engineer is someone he is not,
or by manipulation. As a result, the social engineer is able to take
advantage of people to obtain information with or without the use of
technology.
contents
1
Foreword vii
Preface ix
Introduction xv
Part 1 Behind the Scenes 1
Chapter 1 Security’s Weakest Link 3
Part 2 The Art of the Attacker 13
Chapter 2 When Innocuous Information Isn’t 15
Chapter 3 The Direct Attack: Just Asking for It 31
Chapter 4 Building Trust 41
Chapter 5 “Let Me Help You” 55
Chapter 6 “Can You Help Me?” 77
Chapter 7 Phony Sites and Dangerous Attachments 93
Chapter 8 Using Sympathy, Guilt, and Intimidation 105
Chapter 9 The Reverse Sting 133
Part 3 Intruder Alert 147
Chapter 10 Entering the Premises 149
Chapter 11 Combining Technology and Social Engineering 173
Chapter 12 Attacks on the Entry-Level Employee 195
Chapter 13 Clever Cons 209
Chapter 14 Industrial Espionage 225
Part 4 Raising the Bar 243
Chapter 15 Information Security Awareness and Training 245
Chapter 16 Recommended Corporate Information Security Policies 259
Security at a Glance 331
Sources 339
Acknowledgments 341
Index 347
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foreword
w
e humans are born with an inner drive to explore the nature
of our surroundings. As young men, both Kevin Mitnick and
I were intensely curious about the world and eager to prove
ourselves. We were rewarded often in our attempts to learn new things,
solve puzzles, and win at games. But at the same time, the world around
us taught us rules of behavior that constrained our inner urge toward free
exploration. For our boldest scientists and technological entrepreneurs, as
well as for people like Kevin Mitnick, following this inner urge offers the
greatest thrills, letting us accomplish things that others believe cannot be
done.
Kevin Mitnick is one of the finest people I know. Ask him, and he will
say forthrightly that what he used to do—social engineering—involves
conning people. But Kevin is no longer a social engineer. And even when
he was, his motive never was to enrich himself or damage others. That’s
not to say that there aren’t dangerous and destructive criminals out there
who use social engineering to cause real harm. In fact, that’s exactly why
Kevin wrote this book—to warn you about them.
The Art of Deception shows how vulnerable we all are—government,
business, and each of us personally—to the intrusions of the social engi-
neer. In this security-conscious era, we spend huge sums on technology to
protect our computer networks and data. This book points out how easy
it is to trick insiders and circumvent all this technological protection.
Whether you work in business or government, this book provides a
powerful road map to help you understand how social engineers work and
what you can do to foil them. Using fictionalized stories that are both
entertaining and eye-opening, Kevin and coauthor Bill Simon bring to life
the techniques of the social engineering underworld. After each story,
they offer practical guidelines to help you guard against the breaches and
threats they’ve described.