Alethe's Social Engineering Success and Guilt

Summary: Alethe recounts a social engineering exercise where she successfully obtained information from multiple people, including a new father on paternity leave. While effective, she expresses guilt and concern for the individuals she targeted, contrasting it with her professional work where she can debrief and provide feedback. Insights:

• Exploiting empathy and shared experiences can be a powerful social engineering tactic. Alethe's success was partly due to her feigning shared experiences, like having a baby recently, building rapport and trust.
• Even in simulated exercises, social engineering can have emotional consequences for both the target and the engineer. Alethe's guilt highlights the ethical complexities of this practice.
• Professional social engineering engagements offer opportunities for remediation and learning, unlike one-off exercises. Alethe contrasts the guilt she felt in the exercise with her professional work, where she can explain the test and provide feedback. Proper Nouns:
• Alethe: The social engineer and narrator of the anecdote, reflecting on her experience and ethical considerations.
• BitLocker: A data encryption feature, mentioned as one of the technical details Alethe elicited during her calls. Research
• What are the long-term psychological impacts of being a victim of social engineering?
• How can organizations better train employees to resist social engineering tactics that prey on empathy?
• Are there alternative methods for security testing that minimize the emotional impact on individuals?