Christopher Hadnagy

Chief Human Hacker of Social-Engineer, LLC and lead developer, author and professional social engineer. His super powers are the ability to break sound barriers with his voice and giving really good hugs. When he is not yelling and hugging he is trying to understand how people make decisions then figuring out ways to exploit that knowledge.

Christopher Hadnagy, is the founder and CEO of Social-Engineer, LLC. Chris possesses over 16 years experience as a practitioner and researcher in the security field. His efforts in training, education, and awareness have helped to expose social engineering as the top threat to the security of organizations today.

Chris established the world’s first social engineering penetration testing framework at social-engineer.org, providing an invaluable repository of information for security professionals and enthusiasts. That site grew into a dynamic web resource including a podcast and newsletter, which have become staples in the security industry and are referenced by large organizations around the world. Chris also created the first hands-on social engineering training course and certification, Advanced Practical Social Engineering, attended by law enforcement, military, and private sector professionals.

A sought-after writer and speaker, Chris has spoken and trained at events such as RSA, Black Hat, and various presentations for corporate and government clients. Chris is also the best-selling author of three books; Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking, Unmasking the Social Engineer: The Human Element of Security and Phishing Dark Waters: The Offensive and Defensive Sides of Malicious Emails.

Chris has been invited to the Pentagon to debrief 30+ general officers and government officials on social engineering and its effect on the United States.

Chris specializes in understanding how malicious attackers exploit human communication and trust to obtain access to information and resources through manipulation and deceit. His goal is to secure companies by educating them on the methods used by attackers, identifying vulnerabilities, and mitigating issues through appropriate levels of awareness and security.

Chris is a certified Expert Level graduate of Dr. Paul Ekman’s Micro Expressions courses, having made the study of non-verbal behaviors one of his specialties. In addition, he holds certifications as an Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) and an Offensive Security Wireless Professional (OSWP).