bsides rhode island 2013 - bite the wax tadpole (with katrina rodzon)
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
© 2010 – MAD Security, LLCAll rights reserved
Bite The Wax TadpoleBSides Rhode Island
Katrina Rodzon / Mike MurrayMAD Security / The Hacker Academy
![Page 2: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
![Page 3: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
![Page 4: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Culture / Why it influences us
![Page 5: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
The Human Vulnerability
The Grog Problem (or: Why Users Aren’t Stupid)
![Page 6: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
![Page 7: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
![Page 8: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
![Page 9: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
![Page 10: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
![Page 11: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
![Page 12: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
![Page 13: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
We Shouldn’t Be Here.
But We Are.
![Page 14: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
![Page 15: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
![Page 16: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
![Page 17: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
There’s a pattern there somewhere…
![Page 18: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
The fundamental human advantage:
Our ability to work together
![Page 19: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
Trust is a feature of our hardware
![Page 20: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
What influences us
![Page 21: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
Social Engineering:
The practice of obtaining confidential information by
manipulating users.
Source: Wikipedia
![Page 22: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
Success in Social Engineering
Create a context that ensures that the behavior we want is completely appropriate and ensure congruency with that
context
![Page 23: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
http://lboeckl.net/model/figures/triune%20details.jpg
![Page 24: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
The Six Universal Expressions
![Page 25: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
Understanding Social Penetration:Email / Phishing
![Page 26: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
![Page 27: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
![Page 28: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/28.jpg)
Wilson Baka’s Mistakes• The “A 4O6 Expressway” - The road is called “A406” (note
that it’s a zero and not an “O”). The UK calls them highways or “roads”.
• (Q.C.) – British Barristers don’t usually enclose their credentials in parentheses (and often don’t use periods, writing their names as “Wilson Baka QC”)
• Nine Million Eight Hundred Thousand British Dollars – The British currency is the Pound, and 9,800,000 British Pounds is approximately $15,000,000 USD, not $2.6 million.
• The “abandoned property decree of 1996” – There is no such law in Britain
• “Barr” as a formal signature – British Barristers don’t sign their name as including “Barr” at the beginning to indicate their job title. This is the equivalent of an American lawyer named “John Smith” signing their name as “Lawy John Smith”.
![Page 29: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/29.jpg)
Smart Attackers
![Page 30: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/30.jpg)
Wilson’s Email Host
Why is a British Lawyer using an Indian Free Email Service?
![Page 31: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/31.jpg)
Domain Names
$19.98 is a small investment
![Page 32: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/32.jpg)
![Page 33: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/33.jpg)
Understanding Tone
![Page 34: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/34.jpg)
Salutation and Signature
![Page 35: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/35.jpg)
Rewriting It
Actually sounds like a lawyer
![Page 36: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/36.jpg)
But it’s still not likely to work.
![Page 37: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/37.jpg)
![Page 38: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/38.jpg)
![Page 39: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/39.jpg)
![Page 40: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/40.jpg)
![Page 41: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/41.jpg)
![Page 42: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/42.jpg)
![Page 43: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/43.jpg)
Example: The Evil Twin Attack
![Page 44: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/44.jpg)
My Real Facebook Account
![Page 45: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/45.jpg)
Set up A Fake Facebook Account
![Page 46: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/46.jpg)
Steal the Picture
Take the info directly from the original
![Page 47: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/47.jpg)
Add the Right Info
Stolen from the Public Facebook Profile
![Page 48: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/48.jpg)
The Fake Profile
![Page 49: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/49.jpg)
© 2010 – MAD Security, LLCAll rights reserved
Questions?Get a free demo to learn more:
http://www.hackeracademy.com
Get in touch with Mike
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @mmurray
Get in touch with Kati
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @krodzon
![Page 50: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/50.jpg)
© 2010 – MAD Security, LLCAll rights reserved
Exploiting LanguageMe Speak Good
![Page 51: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/51.jpg)
Review: 3 Skills of a Social Engineer
1.Ability to Use Language Artfully
2.Awareness of the Target and their Responses
3.Awareness and Control of the Context
![Page 52: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/52.jpg)
Language ProcessingA Hardware Perspective
![Page 54: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/54.jpg)
Processing the Written Word
http://www.e-speec.com/model.jpg
![Page 55: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/55.jpg)
Language and Reality
• Language is not reality– This seems obvious– Except that we treat it as somewhat real.– Language acts a model of reality.
• Characteristics of models– Most models have the following characteristics
• Incomplete• Distorted• Purposeful
– Example: maps– Each of these characteristics applies to language.
![Page 56: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/56.jpg)
Linguistic Incompleteness
• All Linguistic Acts are Incomplete– We should be glad.– If we had to be complete about every linguistic act...– Imagine the description of:
• Eating a strawberry.• Walking down the stairs.
– But it causes issues.– We have all been in the situation of misunderstanding because we didn’t
understand what someone meant.– Even the most simple situations have confusion built in:
• “The cat walked across the room.”• “John gave Mary a ring.”
• The key is to know HOW it is incomplete...
![Page 57: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/57.jpg)
Deep vs. Surface Structure
• Deep Structure– A full representation of the speaker’s model of the world– Contains full sensory representations– Too detailed for practical use
• Surface Structure– What we hear/read in a sentence– The key in language is that surface structure somehow communicates deep
structure• That correspondence is what makes language effective• It’s the failure of correspondence that is the incompletion of language
![Page 58: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/58.jpg)
The Usual Suspects
• There are a few common classes of incompleteness that arise when dealing with language:
• Deletion• Distortion• Generalization
• Why do we care?– Understanding what isn’t present allows you to understand what
is being said (and what isn’t).– As in hacking, knowing the rules allows you to bend them.
![Page 59: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/59.jpg)
Deletion
• We leave out parts of any linguistic act– We filter out that which we believe is unimportant– This creates a partial representation
• Acts of Deletion– Unspecified Verbs– Loss of reference
• Lacking Referential Indices• Comparative Superlatives• The “Ly” Verbs
![Page 60: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/60.jpg)
Distortion
• We choose a distorted representation– Purposeful representation - we have “selective memory”– Language that relies on incomplete shared representations
• Acts of Distortion– Nominalization – Mind Reading– Universal Quantifiers
![Page 61: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/61.jpg)
Generalization
• Abstraction for the purpose of extension– A form of deletion - we leave out or “roll up” information– Language that relies on incomplete shared representations
• Acts of Generalization– Modal Operators – Symmetrical/Asymmetrical Predicates
• Symmetrical - “I slept next to him.”• Asymmetrical “I talked to him.”
– Complex Equivalence• “He was excited, so he’s going to give me the information.”
![Page 62: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/62.jpg)
Language and Its Impact
• Language impacts each of the brains– Creates vivid representations to be processed by the brain’s systems
• Two main purposes of language– Information Transfer
• Representations that are (mostly) relevant to the NeoCortex– Influence
• Representations processed across all three “brains”.
• The focus of the rest of this section.
![Page 63: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/63.jpg)
Information Transfer
![Page 64: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/64.jpg)
Outline
• Information Transfer– While social eng. is primarily about influence, we need to talk about
transferring information....– The first purpose of language– The key is precision– Gathering information
• Similar to meta-model exercises• Asking questions • Eliciting information without being invasive - Reflecting Back.
– Providing information to others• Ensuring your own completeness• Creating Feedback loops
![Page 65: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/65.jpg)
Why does this matter?
• Imagine an engagement– I call you up and get you to give me your password. That’s all just
influence, right?– Not really - first, I have to set a contextual frame– There will always be some form of information transfer in setting
the frame.– There will often be information transfer elsewhere, as well.
– Additionally (and this will make more sense later) - information transfer and influence are largely inverse operations. Learning one will allow you to invert more easily to the others.
![Page 66: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/66.jpg)
Precision
• Example of imprecise language: – When we’re talking, we need to do things that ensure that make our
language understandable to other people and that convey some ability to arrive at meaning.
– WTF?!?!?! What information did I just convey?• In language, precision is the art of overcoming incompleteness
• Remember the earlier descriptions of how language is incomplete• We say that a description was precise when a listener arrives at the same mental
representations as the speaker (with whatever precision is required to use the information appropriately)
• That was precisely vague. (Explain why appropriateness constraint)• Uhh... problem. How do we know? (We’ll get there...)• Put simply, in information transfer, the goal is to synchronize representations between
two minds.
![Page 67: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/67.jpg)
This is Bi-Directional
• There are two types of information transfer
• The first is conveying information.• What is the second?
• Conveying information– Being precise
• Requesting information– Learning to convince others to be precise.
• We’ll start with requesting information first – as it’s easier to learn
![Page 68: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/68.jpg)
Asking Questions
• The primary skill - asking questions– The ability to form a good question is of paramount importance– Most people are never taught what constitutes a “good question”
• A Good Question:– One dimensional (only requests one piece of information)
• BAD - “Do you like music, fine wine, and the color blue?” – Mutually exclusive choices
• (hint: the answer to “or” should never be “yes”)• BAD - “Did you have fun today or stay home from work?”
– Does not violate the “7+/-2” principle - Offers limited choice• BAD - “When you grew up, were you in school at a small school while growing up in a big
town, a big town when in a small school, a small town with a small school or a big town while in a big school, or were you home-schooled and how many students were at your school?”
![Page 69: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/69.jpg)
Overcoming Incompleteness
• People are going to leave information out.– Remember the incompleteness exercises from chapter 2– Your goal is to recover the information– We’re going to go through each of the types of incompleteness
and look at how to recover what’s not present.• Remember the usual suspects
– Deletion – Distortion– Generalization– Presupposition
![Page 70: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/70.jpg)
Deletion
• We leave out parts of any linguistic act– We filter out that which we believe is unimportant– This creates a partial representation
• Acts of Deletion– Unspecified Verbs - Recover the referrant of the verb: “about what/whom?”
• “I’m happy.” - Happy about what?• “I stole from him.” - Stole what?• “He talked to me for an hour.” - About what?
– Loss of reference - Recover the reference point.• Lacking Referential Indices
– “People are gullible” - Which people specifically?• Comparative Superlatives
– “He’s the best.” - Compared to what/whom?– “More aggressive social engineers always get what they want.” - More aggressive than what?
• The “Ly” Verbs– “Obviously, he believes that I’m the best for the job.” - How is it obvious?– “Clearly, we were ready to start the engagement.” - What makes it clear?– “Unfortunately, you forgot to write the password down.” - Why is it unfortunate?
![Page 71: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/71.jpg)
Distortion
• We choose a distorted representation– Purposeful representation - we have “selective memory”– Language that relies on incomplete shared representations
• Acts of Distortion– Nominalization -> Turn nominalization back in to verb, recover information.
• “We made a great decision.” - What did you decide?• “Our fear keeps us from making change”. - What are you afraid of? What would you
change? – Mind Reading -> Recover actual data that allowed realization
• “I knew he wanted to give me his password, but he didn’t.” - How did you know?– Universal Quantifiers - Challenge the relationship
• “All balls dropped from a height will fall.” - All of them?
![Page 72: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/72.jpg)
Generalization
• Abstraction for the purpose of extension– A form of deletion - we leave out or “roll up” information– Language that relies on incomplete shared representations
• Acts of Generalization– Modal Operators - Challenge the moral.
• What would happen if you did/didn’t?– Symmetrical/Asymmetrical Predicates
• “I slept next to him.” - Requires that he slept next to you.• “I talked to him.” - Does not require him talking. Did he talk to you?
– Complex Equivalence• “He was excited, so he’s going to give me the information.” - How does his
excitement == his giving you the information?
![Page 73: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/73.jpg)
Challenging Presupposition
• Presuppositions are the things that must be true in order for the sentence to be true.– Example: “Bob went to the store down the street.”– Presuppositions:
• Bob exists and is able to travel. • Bob is on a street. A store is on the street.
• We elicit presupposations with the concept of “does that mean...”– “Does that mean there’s a store on the street?
![Page 74: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/74.jpg)
Confirming Model Equivalence
• So, this could get annoying really quickly.• Remember, the goal is model equivalence (to the level of specificity required)• We don’t have to question for every piece of incompleteness• Because of this, we need to confirm that what is in our head is in the speaker’s
head, as well.
• Reflecting back– Old skill from what was known as “active listening”.– Simple restatement of the speaker’s statements:
• “What I hear you saying is...”• Or, more simply (and less obviously), just a restatement of their statement
with a questioning tone?• Secondary benefit of establishing rapport (more on that later).
![Page 75: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/75.jpg)
Providing Information
• Unless someone else is trained in this, you’re going to have to do it yourself.
• Feedback loops in your own head.• Using the same questions that you were asking
• This is the editing process for writing. – Write a sentence– Read it and determine what it is missing.– Fill in information with next sentence(s). – Repeat.
• In this case, the editor is your audience.
![Page 76: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/76.jpg)
Checking Your Work
• Requesting feedback on information you have given– The goal of model equivalence is only achieved in the head of
the listener– You need to check in with the listener to determine your success
• We can do this without being annoying– Simple checkins request a request for clarification – My use of “Make sense?” – We’ll talk more about audience awareness in section 2, but we
can check in specifically.– Also: “say that back to me”
![Page 77: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/77.jpg)
Learning to Do it In Real Time
• Unfortunately, you can’t learn this by reading or listening to me talk. You have to do it.
• Next time you talk– Allowing yourself to become aware, now, of the next time you tell someone
something what information you have deleted.– Notice the questions that those around you ask - what information are the
people talking to you asking for?• Intentional vagueness
– Intentionally start a conversation or two with a completely vague statement
– Observe the information elicited from you and take note of how you could have added that information at the beginning.
![Page 78: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/78.jpg)
Language for Influence
![Page 79: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/79.jpg)
Types of Influence
• Defined all the way back in ancient Greece.– Aristotle, “On Rhetoric”
• 3 types of rhetorical persuasion– Logos: Appeal to reason– Pathos: Appeal to emotion– Ethos: Appeal to authority/ethics
• Logos: – relies on having the right information - precision
• Ethos - leave for later• Pathos - focus for now.
![Page 80: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/80.jpg)
Agreement
• The goal of information transfer is precision– Different than the goal of influence– This is about the amygdala
• The goal is to change representation without triggering disagreement
• Disagreement is the mind’s defense against inappropriate influence.• This is not about rhetorical/logical disagreement• Agreement allows
• The artful inversion of precision– Use of deletion, distortion and generalization to maintain agreement– Sometimes referred to as being “artfully vague”
![Page 81: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/81.jpg)
A brief word on hypnosis...
• Hypnosis is portrayed as a magical state– It can be, but so is meditation– Hypnosis is actually accurately depicted by the idea of the relaxation of the
critical faculty
• Critical faculty– barrier between conscious and unconscious mind– actually part of the conscious mind– Part of the memetic immune system
• Consistent agreement depotentiates the critical faculty– This state is what is known as hypnosis– Also seen in cult behavior in a different context
![Page 82: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/82.jpg)
Compliance Set
• Agreement patterns– Consistent agreement creates an altered state– This consistent agreement is important for the purposes of
influence
• As long as someone remains in agreement, it is possible to feed suggestion– This is the basis of hypnosis– In fact, disagreement ends trance
• Tell story of Melina from the weekend.
![Page 83: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/83.jpg)
Using what’s not there
• So, how do we create consistent agreement?• Maintaining agreement requires allowing shared
representations– Which is easier to agree with?
• I feel a sensation in my hand.• I feel a stabbing pain in my left index finger?
• The artful inversion of precision– Use of deletion, distortion and generalization to maintain implicit
agreement in all contexts– Sometimes referred to as being “artfully vague”
![Page 84: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/84.jpg)
Deletion
– Unspecified Verbs - • You can wonder exactly what it is to know.
– Loss of reference - Recover the reference point.• Lacking Referential Indices
– “People can know that things are as they should be.”• Comparative Superlatives
– “You can find that being successful is always best.• The “Ly” Verbs
– “Obviously, you can give me the password because you can trust me.”
![Page 85: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/85.jpg)
Distortion
• Acts of Distortion– Nominalization -> Turn nominalization back in to
verb, recover information. • “You can have the knowledge that it’s the right
decision.” • “Our fear keeps us from making change”.
– Mind Reading -> Recover actual data that allowed realization• “I knew he wanted to give me his password, but he
didn’t.” - How did you know?– Universal Quantifiers - Challenge the
relationship• “All of the things that you can do are the right ones...”
– Lost performative:• “It’s good that people are honest.”• “One can wonder exactly when you are going to move
your right arm now.”
![Page 86: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/86.jpg)
Generalization
• Acts of Generalization– Modal Operators - Generalize the modal operator
• One should find themselves working out each day.– Complex Equivalence - making causal
connections• Transitional words -
– Using “and”, “as”, “because”, “will”, etc.
– “The more x, the more y”
![Page 87: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/87.jpg)
Presuppositions
• The artful use of presuppositions is the true method of influence– Once you have agreement, presuppositions are
used to create and alter shared meaning• Example: the Hypnotist’s use of “try”
– “Try” presupposes failure.– “Try” to open your eyes. Really, really try.
![Page 88: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/88.jpg)
Presuppositions
• The artful use of presuppositions is the true method of influence– Once you have agreement, presuppositions are
used to create and alter shared meaning• Example: the Hypnotist’s use of “try”
– “Try” presupposes failure.– “Try” to open your eyes. Really, really try.
• Other words with useful presuppositions– -er at the end of the word (“you can get sleepier
now..”)– More/less/fewer
• Getting closer to putting you in a bind...
![Page 89: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/89.jpg)
Binds
• Binds are situations that reduce the number of choices that we have– Simple binds create an “illusion of choice” (e.g.
“Magician’s choice”)– Double binds create no choice at all.
• Simple binds– Would you like to go to bed now or in five
minutes?– Would you like to brush your teeth before or
after your bath?
• Double binds– “Damned if you do...”
![Page 90: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/90.jpg)
Questions
• The question can not be avoided by the unconscious mind– If you ask a question, it will be answered– This doesn’t have to be conscious
• Knowing how to use questions is the key of making change– Questions can ensure that your content gets
processed, can’t they?
![Page 91: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/91.jpg)
Negation
• Negation is not understood by the human mind– We understand only positively framed statements– “Don’t think of a pink elephant”
• The pattern is unavoidable
![Page 92: BSides Rhode Island 2013 - Bite the Wax Tadpole (with Katrina Rodzon)](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022061122/546fd463af795996068b464b/html5/thumbnails/92.jpg)
Process / Content Confusion
• Linguistic Ambiguity– Hypnotic language patterns often turn on the
ability to substitute process for content– The conscious mind need not understand the
content• Ambiguous Content
– Syntactic Ambiguity– Phonetic Ambiguity