Social Engineering: 13 Social Engineering attacks explained!

[UPDATED in 2023]
+++ instant access to FREE eBook +++

This course will teach you the most common social engineering threats. At the end of the course you will understand why people are the weakest link in your organisations security posture. In other words, increase human intelligence (HUMINT) by updating your mental firewall and reduce the chance of Ransomware! After following this course you will understand:

1) what the most common social engineering threats and are,
2) the impact per threat for your business,
3) how these threats can be executed and / or mitigated.

You will able to understand the above-mentioned points without having to understand technical stuff (e.g. source code) within ONE HOUR!

• Testimonial from Guido: A great election, very nice content and explications

How is that possible?
Social engineering / human intelligence is closely related to psychology. Social engineering can be defined as the art of manipulating people in order to achieve a goal. Therefore, this course is created for managers rather than developers. Managers must train their employees to strengthen their personal firewall (i.e. being less likely to fall victim to manipulation), because collectively all employees make up your organisation’s firewall!

• Testimonial from Gaston: Very well explained!

So, after following this course am I a full-fledged security/HUMINT expert?
No. This course will teach you the most common social engineering threats so that you can critically question and discuss the impact of these security issues with your employees and management. By following this course you’ll become an expert in recognising social engineering attacks. Form the perspective of HUMINT you can use these attacks to collect data.

What!?! Why should I enroll?
Only enroll when you want to strengthen your personal firewall, are new social engineering and want a complete beginners’ perspective. Social engineering is often the first step of a Ransomware attach, thus this course is mandatory for all employees! CISO’s need to protect their cyber security resources, thus course is specifically developed for:

– All employees, no prerequisite knowledge needed;
– (Project) managers that lead in an organisation that depends on IT and have no clue how social engineering could harm their organisation;
– Security managers tasked to deliver basic security awareness training;
– Anyone interested in the basics of social engineering, explained in layman’s terms

Ok, but there is already a lot of information on available on the web. So, what’s in it for me?
I thought you would never ask! This course differentiate itself from existing available information because:

– This course is not solely based on my opinion, but substantiated with scientific evidence. This means you not only get my opinion and experience but it is also backed by science;
– Unlike most other courses, you may actually claim 1 Continuing Professional Education (CPE) after finishing this course completely
– I’ve included lots of links to websites that provide comprehensive background information, should you be interested in more detail;
– That’s not it, there is more…

BONUS Material:
– You will get a FREE eBook of the entire course!
– Attacks that are not considered social engineering (e.g. shoulder surfing) are also included;
– Frequently asked questions. Ask a social engineering question and I’ll answer it with a video.

Why include bonus material, is the main course not exciting enough?
– Getting organisational security right goes well beyond instructing employees. With the bonus material, I would like to inform you about the complementary measures that should be taken into account.
– The course also includes (though) quiz questions. These quizes will solidify your learning.

• Testimonial from Arjuna: The sound quite low, but its fine. Soerin explain everything in a simple way. Thanks! Great Course

I’m fully convinced of the benefits, but I don’t see why I should learn all this from you.
True, let me explain by giving you an overview of my experience:
– Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and have managed Security, Privacy and Quality professionals. Often I’m responsible for implementing and maintaining a well balanced organisational risk posture;
– Security and privacy operations manager (2 years). Acting as a security liaison on strategic accounts, I monitor the security of 2500+ workstations, 500+ servers and 10+ firewalls and routers, report on the operational security status of European and Dutch law and integrate intelligence results from AVDS, Check Point, Nagios, Nessus, Palo Alto Traps, SCCM, SCEP, SEP, SCOM and SIEM;
– Parttime PhD Candidate (9 years – present). I read the science, you’ll get the knowledge! What more do you want?
– Software quality consultant (6,5 years). I’ve advised many managers of large / small IT projects on various software related aspects;
– IT auditor (1 year). I have closely worked with accountants and audited large governmental IT projects;
– Quality assurance engineer (3 years). I have implemented large IT systems for large companies.

Besides experience as an IT consultant I hold the following certifications:

• International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB)
• Certified Secure Software Lifecycle professional (CSSLP)
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
• Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
• Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP / Europe)
• Certified SCRUM Master
• Togaf Foundation
• ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
• ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
• Leading Scaled Agile Framework
• Azure Fundamentals (AZ-900)
• PRINCE 2 foundation

Go ahead click the enrol button, acclaim your FREE eBook and I’ll see you in lesson 1!
Keep learning about Cyber Security, increase HUMINT to prevent Ransomware thought by a CISO!

Cheers,
Soerin