Father of Social Engineering Dies at 59
RIP Kevin Mitnick, aka Ghost in the Wires (1963–2023)
I first read his books in the late 1990s. His unique style of writing, a blend of technology jargon, nerdy humor, square logic, and prose, got me hooked, and I kept reading and reading. When his best-selling book, “The Art of Deception,” reached me, that was it! I was set for a journey into the subtle art of unorthodox communication that I never knew existed. Take any Book on persuasion, like Prof. Robert Cialdini’s Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”, and lay it down together with Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince and even add some Robert Greene for spice—there you are. You now know what to expect from Mitnick's work.
What is “social Engineering”?
Social engineering refers to all techniques aimed at talking a target into revealing specific information or performing a specific action for illegitimate reasons.
Social engineering is a manipulation technique that exploits human error to gain private information, access, or valuables. In cybercrime, these “human hacking” scams tend to lure unsuspecting users into exposing data, spreading malware infections, or giving access to restricted systems. Attacks can happen online, in person, and via…
