Social Engineering - Christopher Hadnagy [80]
Before going further you should know the differences between an interrogation and an interview. The following table presents some of these differences, but this topic has many different angles, viewpoints, and opinions, so more could exist.
Interview Interrogation
Subject talks, you listen. You talk to subject about his statements.
Subject leads direction of conversation; you clarify his statements and listen, then apply NLP skills. You lead direction. Apply NLP skills here.
Non-accusatory. Accusatory.
Soft in nature. Hard in nature.
Subject’s location, subject at ease. Interrogation room, subject is tense.
You gather information (who, what, when, where, why, and how). If you reveal certain information, you can learn details.
Early in investigation. Final questioning session.
The main difference between an interview and interrogation is that an interview is in an atmosphere where the target is comfortable both physically and psychologically, whereas in an interrogation the goal is to put some pressure on the target by creating discomfort with the location or the questions asked, with the goal of gaining a confession or some knowledge the target possesses.
Good interrogation is an art that you can master through experience. Many social engineering skills tie into to being a good interrogator. Skills like elicitation (see Chapter 3); reading people, faces, and gestures; and having insight into human behavior can all help you become a legendary interrogator.
Interviewing is a great skill to have, but as long as you can master the use of elicitation you can become great at conducting interviews.
Interrogation principles are used widely by successful social engineers. Putting a target in some psychological or physical discomfort to make gathering information from them easier is a skill most social engineers will spend a considerable time obtaining.
Professional Interrogation Tactics
Before conducting any interview or interrogation, the social engineer will need to have done thorough information gathering. You must obtain as much information about the target, the company, the situation, and details of each as possible. You must know how to approach a target and what to say, and have in mind the path you will take with the target. Be careful to observe your surroundings as well as any changes in the target during the conversation and initial approach.
One of the mistakes people new to interviewing and interrogation make is assuming every behavioral change has major meaning. A target’s crossing her arms doesn’t just mean a closed thought; she could also be cold, have underarm stink, or feel increased stress because of your questions.
Watch not for only one sign; watch for groups of signs. For example, a target crosses her arms, turns her head, and places her feet flat on the floor. This is a closed person; in other words, her body language indicates that she will divulge no more information or cooperate any longer—this door has been shut. A group of changes is the most important thing to watch for, so note the topic that was being discussed when the group of changes occurred.
When starting an interview or interrogation here are areas to observe for changes in the subject:
Body posture: Upright, slumped, leaning away
Skin color: Pale, red, white, changes
Head position: Upright, tilted, forward/back
Eyes: Direction, openness
Hands/feet: Movement, position, color
Mouth/lips: Position, color, turned up/down
Primary sense: Visual, aural, kinetic, feeling
Voice: Pitch, rate, changes
Words: Short, long, number of syllables, dysfunctions, pauses
Changes can indicate a question or line of questioning that needs more attention. For example, if the body posture is very relaxed when you ask, “Is Mr. CEO in? I would like to leave this information packet for his review,” and then