Social Engineering in IT Security: Tools, Tactics, and Techniques

9	Tools of the Trade

It’s best to have your tools with you. If you don’t you’re apt to find something you didn’t expect and get discouraged.

—Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

You can use various tools throughout the social engineering test, from the planning to the reporting phase. This chapter describes the most common software and hardware tools that my team and I have used in our social engineering tests for research and reconnaissance, scenario creation, and test execution. These tools change all the time; new software may be released or a different hardware tool may be appropriate for your chosen test scenario.

You’ll find certain tools are more relevant for different phases of the test. Tools can be particularly handy ...