Becoming a Human nMAP! Cultivating a Renaissance Approach for the Social Engineer

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Presented at BSidesTampa 2019 by

Tigran Terpandjian

As a security analyst with an atypical entry into the information security world, one of my research questions posed in social engineering is why reading a diverse array of topics is beneficial to the social engineer, be it something they are passionate about or not. In building upon last year’s Defcon 24 presentation at the Social Engineering Village by Tomohisa Ishikawa: “Does Cultural Differences become a barrier for social engineering?” cultural differences presented by different countries place emphasis on different genres; therefore, what one person from a certain country holds dear, the other may not. Therefore, your reconnaissance, pretexts and elicitations and the support required must be able to adapt. I have found this to be true. Reading/Watching/Listening like a 'Renaissance individual (knowledgeable on a variety of topics but not limited to select ones) ameliorates this challenge. The answer came from a combination of attending the Advanced Practical Social Engineering course in 2016 and a self-reflection; all the reading I loved and hated as a child and as an adult has given me an extensive web to build rapport through as a social engineer and improve my elicitation to procure more information . In my talk, I would like to discuss how to develop a strategy and which areas to focus on so you would be available to navigate even through the ‘darkest of waters’ and the ‘coldest of individuals’ and get information you would need.