5 Best Social Engineering Courses For Beginners in 2024
What is Social Engineering?
Social Engineering is the art of manipulating individuals to divulge confidential information. It is a critical skill for cybersecurity professionals, law enforcement officials, and ethical hackers. Social engineers use various psychological techniques to exploit human vulnerabilities, such as fear, greed, trust, and curiosity, to achieve their goals.
Examples of social engineering attacks include phishing scams, where attackers use emails or messages that appear to be from a trusted source, such as a bank or a social media platform, to lure victims into clicking on a malicious link or downloading malware. Other examples include pretexting, where an attacker impersonates a trusted authority, such as a law enforcement officer, to obtain sensitive information or access a restricted area.
Why is Social Engineering effective?
Social engineering is an effective tactic because it preys on human psychology and relies on exploiting people's natural tendencies and emotions. There are several reasons why social engineering is efficient:
- Trust: Social engineers often build trust with their targets by impersonating a trusted individual or organization. When trust is established, persuading the target is much easier.
- Fear: Fear is a powerful emotion that can manipulate people. Social engineers may use fear tactics to dissuade their targets from taking action or divulging sensitive information.
- Authority: People are more likely to comply with requests they believe are coming from an authority figure. Social engineers may impersonate a manager, a police officer, or another authority figure to increase their chances of success.
- Human nature: Social engineers understand human nature and how people behave under certain conditions. They use this knowledge to their advantage and craft their messages and tactics accordingly.
Overall, Human vulnerability and emotion make social engineering effective. Social engineers can manipulate people by understanding their psychology and behavior to get them to reveal sensitive information or do what they want.
Top Social Engineering Courses List
- Learn Social Engineering From Scratch
- Social Engineering Expert
- The Dark Art of Social Engineering and HUMINT
- The Complete Social Engineering, Phishing, OSINT & Malware
- Ethical Hacking: Social Engineering
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1. Learn Social Engineering From Scratch
This course is designed to accommodate learners with no prior experience in hacking. The curriculum is structured to equip you with the skills and knowledge required to become proficient in social engineering, culminating in a high level of proficiency.
In this Social engineering course, you will learn:
- Hack updated & patched systems (Windows, Linux, OS X, and Android).
- Generate undetectable backdoors for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux & Android.
- Generate malware to steal all passwords from Windows & Linux.
- Embed malware in Microsoft Office documents.
- Backdoor Android applications.
- Make evil files (backdoors/keyloggers) look and function like normal files (image, pdf, or any other file type).
- Manually modify malware to bypass anti-virus programs.
- Advanced malware delivery techniques (through fake pages, fake emails, indirect notifications, etc)
- Advanced post-exploitation.
- Discover websites, companies, people, emails, and social networking accounts associated with a person or a company.
- Install hacking lab & needed software (on Windows, OS X, and Linux)
- Install Kali Linux - a penetration-testing operating system
- Install windows & vulnerable operating systems as virtual machines for testing
- Learn Linux basics
- Learn Linux commands and how to interact with the terminal
- Build attack strategies based on the gathered info
- Generate a remote keylogger that logs every key strike entered on a target computer and sends reports by email.
- Backdoor Debian packages for Linux
- Generate OS X backdoors that look and function like normal files (image, pdf, etc.)
- Hack OS X and Linux computers by using a simple one-line command.
- Send emails from ANY email account.
- Create fake websites that look exactly like any other website.
- Create a fake login page and use it to steal passwords.
- Use smart social engineering techniques to make the target person willingly use our fake website.
- Deliver malware as fake updates, fake installers, etc.
- Read, write, download, upload, and execute files on compromised systems.
- Capture key strikes on compromised systems.
- Use a compromised computer as a pivot to hack other computers on the same network.
- Maintain your access to the hacked systems even after restarting.
- Escalate your privileges to admin.
- Analyse files & detect undetectable malware.
- Use a sandbox to analyze undetectable malware.
- Access messages, social accounts, cameras, GPS, etc of the hacked phone.
This course emphasizes the practical application of social engineering while acknowledging the importance of a strong theoretical framework. Initially, you will acquire the essential knowledge of software installation on various operating systems such as Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. Subsequently, the course will be subdivided into distinct sections that mirror the sequential stages required for a successful social engineering attack. The course will also cover Information Gathering, Generating Malware, Delivery Methods, and Post Exploitation.
By the course's conclusion, you will have the skills to infiltrate the operating systems of major platforms, including Windows, OS X, Linux, and Android, much like a black-hat hacker. Additionally, you will be able to safeguard yourself against malicious cyber activities.
- Course rating: 4.7 out of 5.0 (5,189 Rating total)
- Duration: 13 Hours
- Certificate: Certificate on completion
2. Social Engineering Expert
This course has been crafted for individuals keen on pursuing a career in social engineering or those who wish to further refine their existing social engineering skills. Furthermore, the course delves into crucial areas of what to avoid in social engineering practices.
In this Social engineering course, you will learn:
- Social Engineering Attack Vectors well beyond just email phishing.
- Social Engineering Kill Chain methodology.
- Execute Social Engineering Operations with precision, confidence, and accuracy.
- How to read a target's body language and micro-expressions.
- Social Engineering tactics directly from the Founder & CEO of a Cyber Security consulting company with over 15 years of Social Engineering experience.
- How to efficiently conduct reconnaissance online.
This Social Engineering course is more than just learning about email phishing. In this course, you'll get to explore the social engineering kill chain methodology and use it to develop and execute your social engineering campaigns with accuracy and confidence. Additionally, you will dive into various attack vectors such as Baiting, Vishing, and Pretexting.
Additionally, this course includes a comprehensive guide to learning the craft with downloadable documents that can assist in executing social engineering campaigns for your organization or personal security endeavors.
- Course rating: 4.6 out of 5.0 (33 Rating total)
- Duration: 6 Hours
- Certificate: Certificate on completion
3. The Dark Art of Social Engineering and HUMINT
This course offers benefits for professionals in the security sector, such as career advancement and job satisfaction. However, even non-specialists can gain advantages, including detecting deception, identifying competitor strategies, and spotting scammers and criminals. The course also covers how to prevent others from covertly eliciting your secrets. Overall, the course promises to provide a wide range of skills and benefits beyond just those in the security field.
In this Social engineering course, you will learn:
- Social Engineering techniques and tricks.
- HUMINT (Human Intelligence ) techniques.
- Spotting scammers, spies, and other dangerous persons.
- Clandestine elicitation techniques.
- Unlocking people's secrets covertly.
- Detecting sophisticated Social Engineering and phishing attacks at a glance.
- How the human brain can be hacked and how to protect it.
- How to protect your assets and even your brain from human hacking.
This course focuses on a specific aspect of social engineering, which involves eliciting people's secrets. By learning these techniques, you can better protect your secrets and information. Additionally, it will cover how to get people to voluntarily share their secrets, which is a key aspect of keeping your secrets safe.
The course is divided into four sections. The first section introduces social engineering, its effectiveness, and the benefits of human intelligence (HUMINT). The section also covers the challenges of revealing people's secrets and how to overcome them.
The second section focuses on tactical social engineering, exploring the natural vulnerabilities of the human brain and how to exploit them. Techniques used by cybercriminals to elicit important secrets, such as passwords and private data, are also discussed. The section highlights how basic instincts and emotions can be used to play against individuals.
The third section delves into effective HUMINT elicitation techniques used by intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and secret agents. Learners will discover how to become someone people want to confide in, gain trust instantly, and set emotional bonds. The section also covers time-proven techniques that make people share even the darkest secrets.
Finally, a real-life application of the techniques is explored in the final section. The course presents three different scenarios showing how ethical hackers, intelligence officers, and police officers can use social engineering to obtain secrets.k
- Course rating: 4.5 out of 5.0 (76 Rating total)
- Duration: 2.5 Hours
- Certificate: Certificate on completion
4. The Complete Social Engineering, Phishing, OSINT & Malware
Learn how hackers hack Windows, Linux & Android by using Social Engineering and protect yourself from phishing attacks. This course covers all aspects of social engineering, including terminology, practical usage, and hands-on experience. There will be an emphasis on key points throughout the course to ensure a clear understanding.
In this Social engineering course, you will learn:
- Becoming an ethical hacker involves learning at least one programming language and having a working knowledge of other common languages like Python, SQL, and C++.
- Learn how to create undetectable malware using MSFvenom, Veil, TheFatRat, Empire Project, etc.
- Passing the Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) exam indicates that the credentialed individual is an expert in information security governance.
- Learn embedding malware in pdf and doc files.
- Learn the working mechanism of the Social Engineering Toolkit.
- Learn social engineering techniques and terminologies.
- Learn about the Metasploit Framework.
- Learn how to achieve a realistic vishing attack: hacking people by phone.
- Learn how to collect information about people by using OSINT (Open Source Intelligence).
- Learn how to use Empire.
- Learn how to use FOCA, Web Archive, The Harvester & Recon-NG.
- Ethical hacking
- Cyber security
- Android hacking
- Hacking
- Ethical Intelligence
- Ethical Hacker
This course caters to beginners and does not require previous knowledge of social engineering, reverse engineering, malware, the Metasploit framework, or information security. The focus is on learning how to apply social engineering techniques ethically.
By the end of the course, learners will have a comprehensive understanding of social engineering and be able to take necessary precautions for themselves or their organization.
- Course rating: 4.5 out of 5.0 (5,207 Rating total)
- Duration: 3.5 Hours
- Certificate: Certificate on completion
5. Ethical Hacking: Social Engineering
In this course, we will explore a wide range of social engineering techniques that can be used to compromise computer systems. Through numerous lectures and hands-on exercises, you will learn about the various methods attackers use to manipulate individuals into divulging confidential information or taking actions that benefit the attacker. Among the topics we will cover are pretexting, phishing, baiting, tailgating, and more.
In this Social engineering course, you will learn the following topics:
- Humans: The Soft Center within the Hard Shell
- A Walkthrough of a Social Engineering Attack
- Reconnaissance and OSINT
- Phishing Attacks
- Identity Theft and Impersonation
- Social Engineering Countermeasures
Furthermore, we will delve into both computer-based and behavior-based tools that can be used to defend against social engineering attacks. You will gain an understanding of how computer-based tools like firewalls, antivirus software, and intrusion detection systems can help prevent social engineering attacks. In addition, you will learn about behavior-based tools like employee training programs and social engineering awareness campaigns that can help individuals identify and report potential social engineering attacks.
By the end of this course, you will have a thorough understanding of social engineering techniques and the tools available to defend against them. As a result, you can better protect your systems and possibly even help others safeguard their information against social engineering attacks.
- Course rating: 4.4 out of 5.0 (160 Rating total)
- Duration: 4.4 Hours
- Certificate: Certificate on completion
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