On May 25, 2012, social engineering expert Christopher Hadnagy spoke in CyberPoint's Speaker Series. Social engineering, which Hadnagy defines as the art of persuading people to do things against their interest, is now a principal approach criminals, hacktivists, and hostile intelligence services use to compromise organizations. In his presentation Hadnagy discussed the convergence of cyber crime with the ancient tradecraft of confidence men and spymasters.
An internationally known authority on the ways in which those with malicious intent use influence and persuasion to gain access to information and enterprises, Hadnagy leads a team of security professionals who provide social engineering penetration testing and threat education. Currently lead developer at social-engineer.com, he publishes an influential security podcast and a newsletter, both of which focus on the human aspects of security.
Hadnagy is a pioneer in research that integrates the study of nonverbal communication into the analysis of social engineering methods. He gave concrete advice on how businesses can avoid becoming easy victims of fraud, industrial espionage, and other serious threats to their enterprise.
The event was made possible in part by the generous support of the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore and the Harbor East Development Group.