Start Learning about Social Engineering with these 27 Books

After digging through reputable online forums and social media sites, here’s a list of good reads for aspiring social engineers.

The books link to their respective product pages on Amazon. Remember, the public library costs nothing. For Howard County locals, search the online catalog before buying books.

Here’s your 2016 Social Engineering reading list

1. Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker by Kevin D. Mitnick
2. The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security by Kevin D. Mitnick
3. Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking by Christopher Hadnagy
4. The Manipulation of Human Behavior
5. The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
6. The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro
7. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
8. Arrest Proof Yourself by Dale Carson
9. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
10. The Spycraft Manual: The Insider’s Guide to Espionage by Barry Davies
11. Emotions Revealed: Recognizing Faces and Feels to Improve Communication and Emotional Life by Paul Ekman
12. The Art of the Steal: How to Protect Yourself and Your Business from Fraud, America’s #1 Crime by Frank W. Abagnale
13. Unauthorized Access: Physical Penetration Testing for IT Security Teams by Wil Allsopp
14. Telling Lies: Clues to Deceit in the Marketplace, Politics, and Marriage by Paul Ekman
15. Unmasking the Social Engineer: The Human Element of Security by Christopher Hadnagy
16. Phishing Dark Waters: The Offensive and Defensive Side of Malicious Emails by Christopher Hadnagy
17. Covert Persuasion: Psychological Tricks and Tactics to Win the Game by Kevin Hogan
18. The Psychology of Persuasion: How to Persuade Others to Your Way of Thinking by Kevin Hogan
19. The Power of Mindful Learning by Ellen J. Langer
20. Counterclockwise Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility by Ellen J. Langer
21. Get Anyone to do Anything: Never Feel Powerless Again by David J. Lieberman
22. The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man by David Maurer
23. Bargaining with the Devil: When to Negotiate, When to Fight by Robert Mnookin
24. Spycomm: Covert Communication Techniques of the Underground by Lawrence W. Myers
25. What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed Reading People by Joe Navarro
26. It’s Not All About “Me”: The Top Ten Techniques for Building Rapport with Anyone by Robin Dreeke
27. Influence: Science and Practice by Robert B. Cialdini

Skilled penetration testers should develop an understanding of manipulating basic human behavior. The weakest link in an organization are the people who work there.

While reading these books, start learning how to use the The Social Engineering Toolkit or Maltego to gather information about possible targets and employ social engineering tactics.

The majority of these reading suggestions originally appeared on this Reddit thread:

The Ultimate Social Engineering Reading List | Reddit