Introduction

This chapter talks about information security, and specifically about the risks associated with targeting people – hacking humans. Social engineering techniques are specifically designed to bypass expensive information technology security countermeasures, which they do often with surprising ease. The chapter explores the latest thinking in this critical area, and look at the techniques that are effective. The established field of Transactional Analysis can help people understand some of the dynamics of human interaction and communication. By understanding and developing the mapping of social engineering vulnerabilities within a given system, people can begin to identify where protection should be applied. The chapter relates some of the fundamentals of the Transactional analysis discipline into information security attack scenarios. It concludes with a look at the techniques that can be used for some rather effective 'cold reading', useful if people fancy an alternative career as a psychic, astrologer or similar.