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The Social-Engineer Podcast

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Sep 13, 2021 • 51min

Ep. 153 - Human Element Series - You Are Special And Other Lies With Cortney Warren

In this episode, Chris Hadnagy is joined by Dr. Cortney Warren. Dr. Warren is a Board-Certified Clinical Psychologist and former tenured Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).  She is an expert on addictions, self-deception, eating pathology, and the practice of psychotherapy from a cross-cultural perspective. In addition to publishing in some of the field’s top scientific, peer-reviewed journals, Dr. Warren is passionate about bringing theoretically grounded, empirically-supported psychological research to the general public. So, in addition to her academic work, Dr. Warren is a research consultant, keynote speaker, and writes a blog for Psychology Today.  September 13, 2021   00:00 – Intro  www.social-engineer.com  Managed Voice Phishing    Managed Email Phishing    Adversarial Simulations    Social-Engineer channel on SLACK    CLUTCH    www.innocentlivesfoundation.org  02:10 – Cortney Warren Intro  03:35 – How did you get started?  07:28 – Why is it so hard to be honest with ourselves?  10:01 – What gets the person from “it’s easy to lie to myself” to “I’m readily open to admit this”  13:25 – Admitting the truth is just the first step  13:20 – There are certain ways humans lie to themselves.  One of them is “The Specialness Fallacy”  17:43 – How do people make the change in someone who doesn’t want to make the change, they’re not at that point yet?  21:45 – Is self-deception the same in every culture?  25:47 – Is there a particular culture that is more honest with themselves than others?  28:12 – Why is bringing research to the public such a mission for you?  31:41 – How do we make the change out of self-deception?  41:30 – Have you helped people in abusive relationships with your methods?  44:31 – When does your book come out? 44:47 – How to reach Cortney:  www.choosehonesty.com  Email: cortneywarren@choosehonesty.com  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CortneySWarren   Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrCortneyWarren    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-cortney-s-warren-phd-abpp-a4188772/  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQGXD7Ms5oR3GzsPZl3Tjl_9qj71MezHj   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cortneywarren/  45:37 – Who is your greatest mentor?  My mother, Karen J Warren  48:25 – Favorite Books:  Victor Frankl –Man’s Search for Meaning  50:16 – Outro  www.innocentlivesfoundation.org  www.social-engineer.com 
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Aug 16, 2021 • 49min

Ep. 152 - Security Awareness Series - Sharing With Your Frenemies with Bernie Acre

In this episode, Chris Hadnagy and Ryan MacDougall are joined by Bernie Acre.  Bernie is the Chief Information Officer for the City of Bryan, TX where he’s responsible for all technology and communications systems, including the Fire, Police, Public Works, the municipal electric utility, and a myriad of general support organizations.  Bernie is currently an appointed Member of the Texas Cybersecurity Council. Bernie has a combined 41-years of experience in information technology; including 20+ in the US Air Force and 21 years in the electric utility industry and municipal government. August 16, 2021 00:00 – Intro  www.social-engineer.com  Managed Voice Phishing    Managed Email Phishing    Adversarial Simulations    Social-Engineer channel on SLACK    CLUTCH    www.innocentlivesfoundation.org  03:34 – Bernie Acre Intro 04:43 – How did your transition into this position take place? 08:18 – What makes you proud of the culture that you created around employee awareness? 12:25 – How do you get all senior management on board? 14:24 – What did it take to find the people to make such a great team? 15:35 – What were you looking for in these people 17:15 – Setting the bar  19:15 – Team Advocate vs. Adversary  23:59 – Was your senior management always on board with being part of the testing?  27:06 – So the third hour of their required training is something the employees choose?  27:54 – Have you always had the philosophy that the security training you do at work should become personal?  29:21 – What are three things you would tell someone beginning in the field to focus on?  32:51 – Taking the time to grow  34:49 – What do you do to help combat burn out?  How about promoting self-care?  37:31 – What lacks the most sometimes in an organization is communication 37:43 – Who in this industry do you respect the most?  One of Bernie’s commanders in the service, for overall leadership  For this industry:  Chris Hadnagy  Roger Grimes (KnowBe4)  Stu Sjouwerman (KnowBe4)  Kevin Mitnick (KnowBe4)  40:13 – Book Recommendations Winning America by Allan Eckert  All works by James Michener  Valor Across The Lone Star by Charles M. Neal  43:55 – What got you so heavily into history?  44:38 – Finding Bernie on the internet:  www.linkedin.com/in/bernie-acre-cgcio-7838375a/  www.bryantx.gov  47:04 – Outro  Thanks to Bernie  www.innocentlivesfoundation.org           
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Aug 9, 2021 • 45min

Ep. 151 - Human Element Series - Dropping a Dime with Michael Roderick

In this episode, we are joined by Michael Roderick. Michael is the CEO of Small Pond Enterprises which helps thoughtful givers become thought leaders by making their brands referable, their messaging memorable, and their ideas unforgettable. He is also the host of the podcast Access to Anyone which shows how you can get to know anyone you want in business and in life using time-tested relationship-building principles. Michael's unique methodology comes from his own experience of going from being a High School English teacher to a Broadway Producer in under two years.   August 9, 2021   00:00 – Intro  www.social-engineer.com  www.innocentlivesfoundation.org  Managed Voice Phishing   Managed Email Phishing   Adverserial Simulations   Social-Engineer channel on SLACK   CLUTCH   02:08 – Intro to Michael Roderick, CEO of Small Pond Enterprises www.smallpondenterprises.com    www.accesstoanyonepodcast.com 03:20 – High school teacher – where did that come from and what were you teaching? 04:17 – You moved to New York and while teaching high school, you decided you wanted to be a            producer.  How did that come about? 09:49 -  Was all of what you are saying a plan of yours, or you just did it and it worked out? 11:45 – You were doing something for these people with no ask in return.  This makes such a psychological bond with these people.  Why would you do this? 14:41 – What framework did you create out of this experience? 19:45 – You’ve got direct and indirect approach, what are the other two? 23:07 – What methods do you use to find the detail about who you are approaching for the mutually beneficial approach? 27:19 – What’s the “E”? 35:16 – Did you come up with “DIME”? 35:55 – How can an average person use the skills you talked about to cultivate a network? 39:49 – Finding Michael on the Internet: www.smallpondenterprises.com www.myreferabilityrater.com Social Media links (not mentioned in podcast) Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelRoderick  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-roderick-1161571/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mike.roderick.940  40:37 – Who is your greatest mentor? Jeff Madoff 41:37 – Favorite Books Your Brain at Work – David Rock Breakthrough Advertising – Eugene Schwartz
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Jul 19, 2021 • 47min

Ep. 150 - Security Awareness Series - Getting Senior Management Buy-In With Michael Fortune

Michael Fortune, Security Behaviours Team Manager for British Telecom (BT) UK, discusses the challenges of getting senior management buy-in for security awareness. He emphasizes the importance of personalized sessions, creating actionable programs, and explaining the repercussions of not doing training. The speakers also explore the significance of the human element in cybersecurity and practical experience in understanding people.
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Jul 12, 2021 • 46min

Ep. 149 - Human Element Series - Whats In a T with Teresa Abram

In this episode, Chris Hadnagy is joined by Teresa Abram.  Teresa is the founder of Handwriting P.I., a full-service handwriting analysis business. Teresa is not only a handwriting analyzer, but also a professional personality investigator who can spot the red flags of a dangerous personality, identify someone’s strengths, and uncover what is holding someone back. Teresa’s interest in handwriting started when she was just 14 years old and has led her to hosting her own podcast, “A Most Unusual T Party” where she uses the letter T to unlock pieces of a person’s story...which is fascinating to listen to! July 12, 2021 00:00: Intro  www.social-engineer.com  Managed Voice Phishing  Managed Email Phishing  Adverserial Simulations  Social-Engineer channel on SLACK  CLUTCH  Innocent Lives Foundation  03:01: Teresa Abram Intro  Handwriting P.I.  A Most Unusual T Party  05:00: How did you get into this at 14 years old?  07:50: How does one practice handwriting analysis?  09:05: What is scary handwriting?  Psychopath scale.  10:00: Chris’ handwriting  11:20: Can you fool handwriting analysis?  14:00: Can this be used by companies to vet potential employees?  16:05: InfoSec and Handwriting are similar. All science is accurate until it’s not.  18:35: Universal gestures   21:53: Discussion about Social-Engineer COO Ryan  24:19: Does Handwriting PI do handwriting analysis for employers?  Combined with other disciplines.  26:31: Chris’ handwriting sample  27:23: Banned by Hitler as witchcraft  28:16: How long has handwriting analysis been around?  28:51: Can you analyze in different languages?  How?  Incongruency  Methods  34:06: Methodology continued.  Turning the paper over.  Go to the letter “t”.  37:21: How long does handwriting analysis take to do?  38:12: What is another way you work with companies?  39:30: Wrap-up  Teresa on the internet:  Instagram: Handwriting_PI  Website: www.handwritingpi.ca    40:47: Teresa’s mentor - Sheila Lowe, President of the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation  41:54: Favorite Books:   The Wisdom of Psychopaths by Kevin Dutton  Illusions by Richard Beck  44:00: How old is Teresa’s Daughter?  And how did she like having a Mom who would read her handwriting?  46:00: Outro  www.pro-rock.com  www.innocentlivesfoundation.org  Chris Hadnagy on Twitter - @HumanHacker 
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Jun 16, 2021 • 47min

Ep. 148 - Security Awareness Series - Three Degrees of Separation from Neil Fallon with Rockie Brockway

In this episode, Chris Hadnagy and Ryan MacDougall are joined by Rockie Brockway.  Rockie is currently the Practice Lead for the Office of the CSO for TrustedSec. With over 28 years' experience in information security and business risk, Rockie specializes in Business Risk Analysis and the inherent relationships between data, assets, adversaries, and the organization’s brand value. He provides strategic and tactical advisory services to TrustedSec’s clients, assisting them in maturing their organizations’ security programs.  00:00 – Intro  Social-Engineer.com  Social-Engineer.org  InnocentLivesFoundation.org  SE Vishing Service  SE Phishing Service  Social-Engineer Slack Channel  Pro-Rock.com  Breaking Security Awareness Virtual Conference by Living Security – Chris will appear June 24  03:35 – Rockie Brockway Intro  https://www.trustedsec.com/team/rockie-brockway/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/rockie-brockway-6416349/  https://bsidescleveland.com  07:25 – A little about Rockie’s background and how he got started in the industry  10:35 – Rockie's feelings on the past 29 years, from the first virus he saw vs what we see now  12:35 – Rockie was in a math rock band called Craw, Rockie played shows with CLUTCH!!!   17:15 – What should I have or learn to get a job in a company like yours?  20:55 -  Practical Social Engineering certification  21:52 – How do you take curious and knowledgeable people’s knowledge and bridge that gap between them and the decision makers?  23:43 – How can young people get the qualities you suggest?  25:20 – Never be afraid of failure  27:45 – How important is top-down leadership support, or what are the most important aspects of doing your job?  31:25 – Are there more or less “future thinking” proactive security concerns than there were years ago?  36:02 – What level of organizations are bringing you in for your assistance?  37:28 – Action steps for corporations to start doing now  Outro  40:42 – Colleagues you respect most in the industry  Dr Peter Tippett  Marty from Snort  Renaud from Nessus  Dave Kennedy and TrustedSec GitHub  Jack Jones - Factory Analysis Information Risk  B Sides Jack Daniel, Nickerson, Ian Emit  42:45 – Book recommendations  Learning from the Octopus  Emergence  Tribe – Sebastian Younger  The Martian – Andy Weir   Artemis    44:33 – How to contact Rockie  Twitter @rockiebrockway  Twitter @bsidescleveland  Rockie Brockway on Linkedin  TrustedSec.com 
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Jun 14, 2021 • 48min

Ep. 147 - Human Element Series - Becoming Ben Franklin with Joe Navarro

In this episode, Chris Hadnagy and Maxie Reynolds are joined by one of our greatest friends and mentors, Joe Navarro.  After serving as an FBI agent for 25 years, Joe has become a nonverbal and behavioral expert. Since retiring, he has authored 14 books in 29 languages dealing with human behavior and body language. His book “What Every BODY Is Saying” remains the #1 selling body-language book in the world for over 12 years.  Joe’s new book “Be Exceptional” brings 40 years of his observations and research into one book.   00:00 – Intro   Social-Engineer.com   Social-Engineer.org   InnocentLivesFoundation.org   SE Vishing Service   SE Phishing Service   Security Assessments   Certified Training Programs   Adversarial Simulations   Social-Engineer channel on SLACK   CLUTCH   June 24th: Chris at Living Security 2nd annual Breaking Security Awareness (digital conference for 2021)   03:54 – Joe Navarro Intro   www.jnbodylanguageacademy.com    https://www.jnforensics.com/media    https://www.jnforensics.com/books    www.twitter.com/navarrotells   05:40 – Discussion on Joe’s newest book, “Be Exceptional”.  Why a book about being exceptional?  08:41 – Is the writing style in the new book purposely like the others, where you compiled people’s behavior?  Did you start writing with this idea, or did the book come about after you had cataloged it all?  13:16 – What is the difference between excellence and perfection?  15:13 – “Whoever provides the most psychological comfort is going to be the soonest winner”  16:23 – Excellence is about experience and the journey  18:34 – How does someone get to the place where they have mastery over their emotions?  22:50 – How do you get people to have self-awareness and humility?  24:05 – Self-Mastery  26:12 – What is the ranking of success, if it’s not “counting possessions”?  28:15 – How much of excellence is habit?  Is any of excellence based on genetics?   29:18 – Thoughts on Usain Bolt and other runners achieving excellence  32:44 – Thoughts on Benjamin Franklin achieving excellence  39:42 – “Be Exceptional” comes out June 29, a bit of discussion about book release  41:02 – Wrap Up  How to contact Joe:   www.joenavarro.net  www.jnbodylanguageacademy.com  www.jnforensics.com  Joe Navarro on Twitter: @NavarroTells  42:01 – Favorite Books  The Giving Tree   The Gift of Fear  The Desert Queen  The Power of Myth – Joseph Campbell  Heroditus – The History  44:22 – Joe’s Mentors  Mom, Dad, Grandma   Jack Schafer   David Givens   Gerald Post – CIA  47:12 – Outro   www.social-engineer.org – newly redesigned   www.social-engineer.com   www.innocentlivesfoundation.org 
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May 17, 2021 • 41min

Ep. 146 - Demand Transparency with a blue shirt with Jason Frank

In this episode, Chris Hadnagy and Ryan MacDougall are joined by Jason Frank.  Jason has an extensive background in helping both government and Fortune 100 organizations, and has served a course instructor for the Black Hat security conference. Jason is now currently the COO at SpecterOps, where he is accountable for execution of the company. He oversees the Adversary Simulation and Detection delivery capabilities, where he helps clients to understand, detect, and respond to adversaries. May 17, 2021   00:00 – Intro  Social-Engineer.com  Social-Engineer.org  InnocentLivesFoundation.org  Human Hacking Book  Vishing as a Service (VaaS)  Phishing as a Service (PHaaS)  HumanHackingBook.com  Slack Channel  @HumanHacker on Twitter  CLUTCH  03:05 – Podcast Guest Jason Frank Intro   03:22 – Jason at BlackHat  03:30 - SpecterOps  04:34 – How Jason got to where he is  08:50 – Curiousity and motivation born from failing at a CTF  09:50 – Adversary Simulation – why is Jason using this phrase?  12:32 – Where are we in the current security culture?  16:11 – How to get attention of stakeholders, what concepts do you put in play?  18:03 – Reactive vs. Proactive  21:56 – How can corporations prepare for and mitigate attacks?  23:39 – What are the business repercussions of not letting machines talk to each other, and only the server?  25:45 – What are the more recent attacks you’ve seen coming up that people should be looking for?  28:14 – Knowledge bombs – terminology that people can look up to recognize “low hanging fruit” they may be missing – Bloodhound  30:00 – Cycles where certain things can be exploited such as ActiveDirectory  30:50 – What other things do companies need to be watching for  32:14  – PowerShell  33:44 – What are some action steps that corporations should start taking right now?  34:51 – Colleagues Jason respects most in the industry  Andrew Morris founder of GreyNoise  Dane Stuckey from Palantir  Jason Hill from DHS CISA  Bryan Beyer and Keith McCammon from Red Canary  36:50 – Jason's Book Recommendations  Creativity Inc.  Principles: Life and Work  Get A Grip  38:31 – Wrap-Up  @jasonjfrank on Twitter  Jason J Frank on LinkedIn  @joemontmania on Twitter (Ryan MacDougall)  @HumanHacker on Twitter (Chris Hadnagy)  @InnocentOrg on Twitter (Innocent Lives Foundation) 
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May 10, 2021 • 48min

Ep. 145 - Baking a Human Behavior Cake with Jack Schafer

In this episode, Chris Hadnagy and Maxie Reynolds are joined by industry professional Jack Schafer, PhD.  Dr. Schafer is a psychologist, professor, intelligence consultant, and former FBI Special Agent. Dr. Schafer spent fifteen years conducting counter-intelligence and counterterrorism investigations, and seven years as a behavioral analyst for the FBI's National Security Division's Behavioral Analysis Program.  May 10, 2021     00:00 - Intro  Social-Engineer.com  Vishing as a Service (VaaS)  Phishing as a Service (PHaaS)  Black Hat  Slack Channel  Clutch  Innocent Lives Foundation  03:32 - Introduction to Dr. Jack Schafer, PhD.  04:54 - How Jack decided to start training people in his field after retirement  07:46 - Why is rapport building important?  11:49 - How do you stop rapport from being used against you?  13:51 - Explaining “The Truth Bias”  15:37 - Rapport works across different cultures  18:15 - The basic human need to correct other people  19:28 - Integrating the knowledge of that need into work as an FBI agent - “Brian’s Loop”  23:01 - People don’t answer yes or no, they answer Yes+, No+, I Don’t Know+  23:19 - Flattery  25:13 - Roundabout vs Direct Approach  26:45 - The “right” way is the way that works for you  29:58 - The Truth “Default Mode” and breaking the baseline  33:05 - Verbal vs. Non-Verbal Cues  36:19 - Get A Commitment  37:36 - Why does getting a commitment work on humans?  39:50 - The Lip Purse  42:40 - Wrap Up  The Like Switch  The Truth Detector  Emma  44:45 - Jack’s Mentors  46:30 - Contact Jack  Jack Schafer on LinkedIn  Email: jackschafer500@yahoo.com  47:06 - Outro  Maxie Reynolds on Twitter  Maxie Reynolds on Instagram  Chris Hadnagy on Twitter  Social-Engineer on Instagram  www.social-engineer.com  www.social-engineer.org  www.humanhackingconference.com  www.humanhackingbook.com  www.innocentlivesfoundation.org  Social-Engineering Slack Channel  CLUTCH   
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Apr 19, 2021 • 53min

Ep. 144 - Adaptive Problem Solving with Ashley Rose

In this episode of the SECurity Awareness Series of the SEPodcast, Chris Hadnagy and Ryan MacDougall are joined by Ashley Rose, the CEO of Living Security. Listen in as they discuss the best methods to teach cybersecurity awareness, as well as the unique advantages when using escape rooms to do so.  April 19, 2021   00:00 – Introduction  Social-Engineer.com  Slack  Clutch  03:12 – Introduction to Ashley Rose  04:31 – Ashley’s path into cybersecurity awareness  10:59 – Developing an escape room that teaches cybersecurity  15:02 – How Living Security adapted to the pandemic  22:16 – How Ashley gets the attention of potential clients  26:00 – Why “adaptive problem solving” is a vital skill  28:49 – How this training is increasing security awareness  30:47 – The industry’s unhealthy focus on compliance  34:41 – The science that went into developing the training  36:49 – How training can be individualized to increase effectiveness  41:42 – Ashley's contact info  www.livingsecurity.com  Living Security on Twitter  Ashley on LinkedIn  Ashley on Twitter  42:28 – Ashley's most respected colleagues  Venus Goodwine   Chris Nickerson  44:40 – Ashley’s action steps that corporations should start doing right now  49:06 – Ashley's book reccomendations  The CEO Tightrope: How to Master the Balancing Act of a Successful CEO  The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers  50:13 – Outro  Ryan on Twitter  Chris on Twitter  Ashley on Twitter  Living Security on Twitter  Ashley on LinkedIn  Social-Engineer.org   Social-Engineer.com  The Innocent Lives Foundation      

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