The Social-Engineer Podcast

Welcome to another episode of The Social-Engineer Podcast! Host, Christopher Hadnagy, interviews Christopher Dwyer, on this 124th episode. Dr. Dwyer is a psychologist who has been researching critical thinking and cognitive energy throughout his career, including what it means to be a critical thinker. He started his PhD by researching argument mapping, focusing on the structure of arguments and the effect of it on memory performance.

Chris asks Dr. Dwyer how he would define critical thinking. For Dr. Dwyer, the term refers to purposeful, self-regulatory reflective judgment reliant on a number of skills in order to produce a valid conclusion to an argument or a solution to a problem. Dr. Dwyer explains how the term has come to have different meanings across the industry - but the main idea has been that core skills and core dispositions make up critical thinking. Dr. Dwyer is interested in how to enhance people’s critical thinking skills; however, he has found that it is very dependent on context and circumstances. He shares an example of this, comparing findings about critical thinking of traditional students and adult-learning course students. The mature students had worse critical thinking at the beginning of a class yet they improved more than traditional students over time.

Towards the end of the episode, Chris and Dr. Dwyer discuss how humans hate to be wrong, but love to be right. Dr. Dwyer says that this is due to risk aversion - we do not enjoy the things that are detrimental to us and we fear being found wanting. However, it is important to not let our fear stop us from critically thinking well.

Direct download: Social-EngineerPodcastEp124.mp3
Category:Human Element Series -- posted at: 3:00am EDT

On this episode of The Social-Engineer Podcast, host Chris sits down with Dr. Eva Krackow to discuss decision-making. Eva is an assistant professor in psychology at the University of Leicester, and focuses her research on judgement and decision-making, as well as how people can improve their daily choices for the better. Similarly, The Social-Engineer focuses on the end user, and how their decisions affect their online security. Eva talks about a game that was developed to research the difference in an individual’s behavior based on the motive of the game, being teamwork, or a competition, and how subtle framing can influence an individual’s behavior. Framing is a way to present an idea or concept to an individual to achieve desired results.

Chris and Eva discuss the parallels between online security, The Social-Engineer’s line of business, and an individual’s choice to lean towards a way of “framing” that appeals to them. In terms of phishing scams, where once there were emails riddled with errors, scams have become more intelligent, getting email correspondence to appear more legitimate. Framing of the message has become more professional and sophisticated. The framing of the emails has changed in a way to adapt to the individual reading the scam, allowing the scammer to continue to be successful in stealing identities and information.

Eva discusses issues that come along with our current age of social media, and how individuals are less likely to explore unfamiliar information because of the algorithms that these popular networking sites use to appease each individual user. Social media websites aren’t necessarily our friend when it comes to actual facts and accurate information, but it is coincidentally where most people are finding their news sources. She suggests we need to consistently look outside of our usual media sources, outside of our current friends list, and be aware of the information we’re absorbing. When we don’t take these initiatives on our own, we can find ourselves taking in a never ending supply of information that appeals specifically to us, making it easier to believe the news we take in to be fact, when many times, it’s not. Reframing our communication allows us to be more open to new information that we may not have been before, it can open doors we weren’t aware existed when we’re able to step outside of our comfort zone.

Listen to more episodes and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts!

Links:

Find more of Dr. Eva Krackow’s articles at https://www.psychologytoday.com/us

Find more information about The Social-Engineer at: https://www.social-engineer.org/

Follow The Social-Engineer Podcast on Twitter (@humanhacker), YouTube, and LinkedIn

Eva's Book Recommendations:

Trevor Noah - Born a Crime

Direct download: Social-EngineerPodcastEp123.mp3
Category:Human Element Series -- posted at: 9:01pm EDT

Chris Hadnagy interviews Anne-Maartje Oud, chairperson and owner of The Behaviour Company, about how she found the inspiration and drive to kick start her own company dedicated to research about human behavior, how she deals with common behavioral problems, some insights on her cultural background and its impact on her career and the people around her.

On This Episode We Discuss:

  • 00:00 - 122nd Episode of the Social-Engineer Podcast!
  • 03:50 - Quick recap about Anne-Maartje Oud
  • 04:30 - Anne talks about the early years of her career, how she found the inspiration and drive to start her own company focused on research into human behavior
  • 08:33 - Anne talks about her study and research on human behavior, how she teach people
  • 10:16 - How she help people become aware of their bad behavior
  • 13:59 - Anne talks about the common problems she usually encounter
  • 19:25 - Her advice on meeting new people, going through job interviews and how to behave right in these situations
  • 21:45 - Her cultural background and its impact on her career and the people around her; and how to fit in with people from various cultures
  • 45:33 - Closing remarks for Anne (links to her company website, social media accounts, books she recommends)
  • 46:16 - Desmon Morris’ book “People Watching”

 

  • 48:58 - A brief interview with Dov Baron
  • 49-57 - Who is Dov Baron?
  • 51:26 - Dov shares what he’ll talk about in the coming 2020 Social-Engineer conference
  • 55:00 - Dov talks about leadership
  • 57:56 - Closing remarks for Dov (Links to his company website, his social media accounts)

 Books to Read:

 What Every Body is Saying - Joe Navarro

 Featured Links:

 Connect with Anne-Maartje Oud:

 Connect with Dov Baron:

 Listen & Subscribe:

 Thanks for listening! Follow and tweet @SocEngineerInc. Find us on Facebook and, if you like what you hear, do us a favor and write a review on iTunes.

Direct download: Social-EngineerPodcastEp122.mp3
Category:Human Element Series -- posted at: 3:09pm EDT

On This Episode We Discuss:

  • 0:27 - Introducing the guest - Joe Navarro
  • 1:35 - Joe Navarro’s background and expertise
  • 3:06 - The 13 books Joe has written
  • 3:36 - Why do we do anything?
  • 3:58 - The next project Joe is working on related to what makes good leadership
  • 5:44 - SEVillage Orlando 2020 preview and what Joe’s talk will be about
  • 8:35 - How Joe’s career path lead him into leadership and writing books
  • 11:08 - Joe coming to the country, not knowing any English, and how this shaped his reliance on non-verbals
  • 13:00 - The leadership most of us will encounter and how personal this typically is
  • 14:26 - The most important attribute any leader must have
  • 15:27 - What do you think makes a great employee for your company?
  • 17:19 - Joe’s experience working with Robin Dreeke
  • 18:13 - Joe’s story of getting a text from someone he put in prison
  • 21:00 - The importance of treating people humanely
  • 21:58 - Joe’s experience in Puerto Rico with people telling him when something wasn’t right
  • 23:18 - What’s coming up in the upcoming months for Social-Engineering
  • 25:40 - Understanding how you can improve (And why you need to be open to it)
  • 26:41 - Who the best investigator typically is
  • 27:38 - Ego and how it can harm you
  • 28:27 - What Joe would ask himself before doing an interview
  • 30:27 - Putting the right people in the right situations to be most effective
  • 31:32 - Joe’s experience in New York trying to recruit someone 
  • 32:43 - How to determine what type of person is the best in any situation
  • 33:30 - Interethnic empathy
  • 35:12 - The reasons why operations sometimes fail
  • 36:32 - Why “face time” is so important and really the key to everything
  • 37:11 - A few things you can do to increase face time
  • 40:15 - Where people can go to learn more about Joe
  • 42:05 - Joe’s book recommendation

 

Connect with Joe Navarro

 

Links:

 

Direct download: Social-EngineerPodcastEp121.mp3
Category:Human Element Series -- posted at: 12:29am EDT

On This Episode We Discuss:

  • 0:00 - 10th year anniversary podcast!
  • 2:38 - Robin’s book Sizing People Up
  • 3:43 - Why trust is ultimately what matters
  • 5:33 - Perry’s speech at SEVillage
  • 7:45 - Changing the context of how you view your situation (And the world)
  • 10:35 - How you choose who to engage when speaking to an audience
  • 11:10 - Stage hypnosis
  • 13:15 - Why you need to make every statement about the other person
  • 14:50 - Why we always act in our best interest and understanding what that means for others
  • 17:28 - How you can use social engineering in real-life social situations (And how to mitigate manipulation)
  • 22:44 - The differences between the alcohol, tobacco, and firearms industries 
  • 27:25 - The most effect technique for listening
  • 28:08 - The Black Badge Contest winners 
  • 29:05 - How the Black Badge works and why it’s so high pressure
  • 30:03 - Techniques for building rapport
  • 33:17 - Having so many people fill the room at DEF CON
  • 36:22 - Protecting data and how changing culture has to start from the top
  • 41:10 - Career prospects and how to find the right company to work for
  • 44:38 - The value of writing to build credibility and get more clients 
  • 46:55 - Phishing education and incentivizing positive action
  • 49:45 - Taking time to figure out people’s strengths and top 3 priorities of people you’re working with
  • 50:45 - Why loving your product, believing in what you’re selling, and knowing it will help people is crucial to selling a product
  • 54:32 - Dealing with fatigue while vishing (And taking breaks)
  • 58:04 - What makes a great social-engineer
  • 1:00:00 - Perry’s Book
  • 1:03:37 - A technique for catching 3 spies (Coming soon)

 Connect with Them

 Links:

Direct download: Social-EngineerPodcastEp120.mp3
Category:Human Element Series -- posted at: 11:31pm EDT

Bio: https://www.stephaniepaulinc.com/meet-stephanie

On This Episode We Discuss:

  • Who Stephanie is and what she does
  • How Stephanie produced, cast, and directed the launch of the Calvin Klein CK1 Fragrance in New Zealand at age 21
  • Stephanie’s acting role in the film Iron Sky
  • How Stephanie started her company by accident
  • The psychology tool “Stimulus Value” and the importance of understanding it
  • The top traits we look for when communicating with other people
  • The importance of knowing WHY we’re delivering a message and delivering it in a way that’s beneficial to your audience
  • How Stephanie develops stories with her clients and teaches them how to use their emotions as tools
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Why laughter is the most contagious biological behavior we have
  • Laughter yoga
  • Stephanie’s workshop in February of 2020 and why you NEED to come
  • A few books Stephanie recommends

 

Direct download: Social-EngineerPodcastEp119.mp3
Category:Human Element Series -- posted at: 4:00am EDT

Image result for dr. jessica barkerDr. Jessica Barker runs a cyber security consultancy and, with a background in sociology, specializes in the human side of cyber security. She is especially interested in attitudes and behaviors in relation to cyber security, and her work is focused on communication, awareness, behavior and culture.

On this episode we discuss things like:

  • How can we make info sec more human centric?
  • Why are we failing so much?
  • Should shame and fear be used in training?
  • And so much more.
 
Direct download: Social-EngineerPodcastEp118.mp3
Category:Human Element Series -- posted at: 4:00am EDT

Image result for chris voss Chris Voss is an author, and professor. His is also a former FBI hostage negotiator, the CEO of The Black Swan Group Ltd, and co-author of the book, Never Split the Difference.

Chris discusses:

  • What are negotiation skills?
  • How are they useful in every day life
  • What is tactical empathy
  • What is a black swan?
  • Can you really use these skills to save lives?
  • So much more!!

 

Chris can be found on his website: https://blackswanltd.com/ and you can also find him on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/vossnegotiation

He recommended a few books for us this month:

The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance by Steven Kotler

The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How. by Daniel Coyle

The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle

Direct download: Social-EngineerPodcastEp117.mp3
Category:Human Element Series -- posted at: 4:00am EDT

Image result for gregg henriquesGregg Henriques is a psychologist and professor with expertise in depression, suicide and personality disorders. He developed a new theoretical system for psychology and joins us today to share it with us.

As we discuss his theory we will talk about:

  • His new theory of psychology
  • The 4 interlocking peices and how we can apply them in every day life
  • How to build a C.A.L.M Narrator
  • So much more....

 

You can find out more about Gregg on his website: greghenriques.com as well as his articles on Psychology Today  

Gregg recommends we read: The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion: Freeing Yourself from Destructive Thoughts and Emotions by Christopher K. Germer

Direct download: Social-EngineerPodcastEp116.mp3
Category:Human Element Series -- posted at: 4:00am EDT

Chase Hughes is an ex-military Chief that wanted to learn how to better the study of influence. He wanted to see if he could teach anyone to use these skills fast and with precision.  Join us this month as we discuss this very topic with Chase and try to answer:

  • Can we train people in influence like we train animals?
  • Can we control our own minds to condition ourselves to not be influenced?
  • Can we change how we react to fear, anger or other emotions?
  • So much more...

You can follow Chase on his Twitter account: https://twitter.com/thechasehughes

Check out Chase's book. The Ellipsis Manual 

and also his book recommendation, Be the Pack Leader by Cesar Milan

Direct download: Social-EngineerPodcastEp115.mp3
Category:Human Element Series -- posted at: 12:34pm EDT

Image result for Whitney MerrillWhitney Merrill is a privacy attorney, worked with the EFF and runs the Crypto and runs the Crypto Privacy Village at DEF CON. (See a pattern yet?)

This month we have a very fun and lighthearted chat with Whitney about things like:

  • Is it possible to remain private today?
  • Is it possible to be safe and date online?
  • How dangerous is OSINT?
  • And so much more

 

You can find out more about Whitney on her website: https://whitneymerrill.com/

She recommends the book "How To Make a Spaceship" by Julian Guthrie

Direct download: Social-EngineerPodcastEp114.mp3
Category:Human Element Series -- posted at: 9:28pm EDT

Image result for clint watts Join us with our guest Clint Watts as we ask questions about:

Misinformation campaigns and their success.

  • How is misinformation used?
  • Why is it so powerful?
  • How can we be safe from falling victim?
  • So much more

Clint can be followed on his Twitter Account @selectedwisdom  and on https://www.fpri.org/contributor/clint-watts/

Clint also recommends these books:

Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment Francis Fukuyama 

The Fifth Risk Michael Lewis 

American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America 

Direct download: Social-EngineerPodcastEp113.mp3
Category:Human Element Series -- posted at: 3:00am EDT

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