How do you handle the disclosure and reporting of a social engineering pentest to the client?

Prioritize setting a defined scope and objectives, tailored to the client's needs. Select appropriate methods & tools, establish the duration & frequency of tests, & outline expected outcomes. Securing written consent and adhering to ethical and legal standards is paramount. This preparatory phase is critical for ensuring transparency and avoiding potential conflicts. Upon completion, providing a comprehensive report to the client, detailing findings and recommending actionable security enhancements, is essential. This approach not only ensures the integrity of the pentest but also strengthens the client’s defenses against real-world social engineering threats, reflecting a strategic and responsible approach in ethical hacking practices.

Plan the scope and objectives #Determine the specific groups or individuals within the organization that will be targeted during the social engineering pentest. This may include employees, contractors, vendors, or other stakeholders who have access to sensitive information or critical systems. #Choose the social engineering techniques and tools that will be employed during the pentest, such as phishing emails, pretexting phone calls, or physical infiltration attempts. Consider factors such as the level of sophistication, likelihood of success, and potential impact on the target.

When reporting a social engineering pentest to the client, it's crucial to plan the scope and objectives effectively. ?? Define the Target: Identify the audience being tested, like employees or vendors. ?? Set Clear Goals: Determine the specific outcomes you want, such as assessing security awareness. ??? Choose Methods: Decide on the techniques to be used, like phishing or pretexting. ?? Get Consent: Ensure you have written approval from the client, adhering to ethical standards. This structured approach fosters transparency and trust, making the findings actionable for the client. Example: "We uncovered vulnerabilities that need addressing and recommended tailored training." Sources: OWASP, NIST Cybersecurity Framework.

Handle social engineering pentest disclosure by preparing a comprehensive report detailing findings, methods, and recommendations. Present results in a clear, non-technical manner, emphasizing vulnerabilities, risks, and mitigation strategies. Conduct debriefing sessions to address client concerns, facilitate understanding, and ensure actionable insights for improving security defenses.

When gathering intelligence for a social engineering pentest, it’s important to focus on both digital and physical information sources. For instance, in a pentest I conducted for a financial institution, we used publicly available social media data to profile key employees. This allowed us to craft targeted phishing emails that appeared highly credible to the recipients. Another valuable tactic is examining the company’s online presence, like press releases or employee directories, to create realistic impersonation scenarios. Gathering this intelligence helps ensure that the attacks align with the target's vulnerabilities, making the test more accurate and actionable.

Collect information about the target organization, its employees, and any publicly available data. Understand the organizational culture and communication practices. Craft realistic scenarios based on gathered intelligence. Tailor the attacks to mimic real-world threats faced by the organization. Develop a detailed plan for executing the social engineering attacks. Include timelines, methods, and any specific tools or resources required.

To effectively report a social engineering pentest to the client, focus on gathering intelligence and crafting realistic scenarios. ???♂? Research: Collect data on the organization and its employees using online databases, social media, and other resources. ?? Analyze: Understand the company culture and identify vulnerabilities. ?? Create Scenarios: Develop convincing phishing emails, fake calls, or impersonations that reflect actual threats. This approach highlights weaknesses and prepares the organization to enhance its security measures. Example: "Simulated phishing tests reveal employee vulnerabilities."

Gather intelligence and craft scenarios #Utilize OSINT techniques to gather information about the target organization, its employees, vendors, partners, and industry landscape. This may involve scouring public databases, social media platforms, corporate websites, job postings, news articles, and online forums for relevant information. Leverage automated OSINT tools and platforms to streamline the collection and analysis of data, such as social media monitoring tools, domain intelligence services, and web scraping utilities. #Supplement OSINT with HUMINT sources, such as direct interactions with employees, contractors, or vendors, to gather insights into organizational culture, communication patterns, and employee behaviors.

Carry out the planned attacks, whether through phishing emails, phone calls, or physical access attempts. Document the entire process, including screenshots, call recordings, or video footage. Maintain a chain of custody for all collected evidence. Ensure that the attacks do not cause harm to the organization's operations, data, or personnel. Have contingency plans in place to stop the test if necessary.

Execute the attacks and collect evidence #Exercise caution to maintain operational security throughout the execution of social engineering attacks to avoid detection and preserve the integrity of the assessment. Minimize the use of personally identifiable information (PII) or sensitive data that could compromise the confidentiality or privacy of individuals involved in the pentest. Use secure communication channels, anonymization techniques, and encryption protocols to protect the confidentiality and integrity of communications and data collected during the engagement.

?? Analyze the Results: Evaluate the effectiveness of the attacks by identifying strengths and weaknesses in the organization’s security awareness. ?? Risk Assessment: Determine the impact of any vulnerabilities discovered during the tests. ?? Prepare the Report: Create a comprehensive and clear report summarizing your findings. ?? Recommendations: Offer actionable suggestions for improving the organization’s security posture to prevent future incidents.

Analyzing the results of a social engineering pentest is where you turn raw data into meaningful insights. In one case, after conducting phishing and vishing attacks for a tech startup, we found that employees who had undergone previous security awareness training were less likely to fall for our scams. This highlighted the effectiveness of their training program while pointing out areas that needed reinforcement, like their response to phone-based attacks. Our report detailed these findings and provided clear recommendations, such as enhanced vishing training and implementing more rigorous email filtering solutions.

Analyze the results and prepare the report #Conduct a thorough analysis of the data collected during the social engineering attacks, including communication logs, response rates, success rates, and any sensitive information obtained. Triage the data to prioritize critical findings and identify patterns, trends, or recurring vulnerabilities that require attention. #Identify the root causes of successful social engineering attacks and security weaknesses within the organization's people, processes, and technology. Determine whether vulnerabilities stem from inadequate security awareness training, lax enforcement of policies and procedures, or deficiencies in technical controls and safeguards.

Once the audit is complete the job is not finished. In addition to providing an overview of the findings, management must work together in developing a plan to address the deficiencies. In some cases, there won’t be any significant threats discovered. Don’t be tempted to pad the report with trivial findings. Instead, be honest and report that the overall assessment went well and suggest security enhancements to consider. On the other hand, the results may unearth some other discoveries, that include sloppy employee practices, such as missed software patches and forgotten backups. Regardless of what the team found, stress that the organization should do an annual audit to get an accurate snapshot of the organization's security posture.

Present the report and provide feedback #Arrange a meeting or conference call with key stakeholders from the client organization to present the findings of the social engineering pentest. Ensure that representatives from relevant departments, including IT, security, HR, and executive leadership, are present to facilitate discussion and decision-making. #Provide context and background information on the purpose, scope, and methodologies used in the social engineering pentest. Explain the importance of assessing security awareness and resilience to social engineering attacks and the potential impact on the organization's overall security posture.

The key component towards this effort is simple: Concise Communication with system owners. Any dialog must define digestible, achievable steps that make sense to the specific audience. Never use the same style of communication between an engineer, developer & executive, and approach it from a polite/respectful stance. Failing in this portion of the assessment almost guarantees that the pen test will be disregarded or improperly implemented.

It is very important that you get the scoping right when it comes to a Social Engineering test. Every single detail needs to be considered and discussed. Ensure that every single detail is agreed and understood, as the Ethical and Morale bounds are high in such a test. Failure rates are high for SE tests, especially when the scope goes outside of the training provided to the targets. Your goal is gauge the efficency and preparedness of the organization in regards to attack type, not to leverage people with any means just to prove a breech is possible. Ensure you keep this in mind, as people are fallable by nature, especially in social aspects. This is a test of training, but there is human concerns and elements at play.

Social Engineering: It is a statistical fact that no matter how well trained, about 20% of humans are likely to fall for Social Engineering exploits. Phishing campaigns have revealed year after year about 20% of those tested will be compromised. It is human nature to be helpful in a social context. When push comes to shove, an employee will reveal some data over the phone over time. It is important to set management expectations in security that training will only go so far. Disciplinary actions may be suggested to increase compliance for repeated offenses, like lose of access, probation periods to deter additional offenses. A well planned Social Engineering exploit will succeed, due to human nature, that is why it's so popular.