Social Engineering

Catalog description

Depending on who you ask, you will get a different version of the same statistic: 90+% of cybersecurity breaches start with social engineering. But statistics, like people, are prone to manipulation. This course will explore both the ethics and the tactics of social engineering at the micro and macro levels using both manual and AI-infused approaches—from influencing a single bad action (clicking a phishing link) to influencing an entire population (information warfare, troll farms, and fake news). Students will receive practical instruction in social-engineering focused pentesting that incorporates vishing, phishing, creating payloads, applying advanced OSINT, and physical security considerations for on-prem engagements. Students will select a recent case in social engineering and perform a case study paper/project.