The Goals of Elicitation

Reviewing the definition for elicitation can give you a clear path of what your goals are. Really, though, you can boil it down to one thing.

A social engineer wants the target to take an action, whether that action be as simple as answering a question or as big as allowing access to a certain restricted area.

To get the target to comply, the social engineer will ask a series of questions or hold a conversation that will motivate the target to that path.

Information is the key. The more information that you gather, the more successful the attack will be. Because elicitation is non-threatening it is very successful. Count how many times in a week you have meaningless little conversations with someone at a store, coffee shop, or elsewhere. The whole methodology of holding conversations is steeped in elicitation and it is used in a non-malicious way daily. That is why it is so effective.

Some experts agree that mastering the art of conversation has three main steps:

1. Be natural. Nothing can kill a conversation quicker than seeming to be uncomfortable or unnatural in the conversation. To see this for yourself try this exercise. Have a conversation with someone about something you know a lot about. If you can record it somehow or have someone else take notice, see how you stand, your posture, and the way you assert your knowledge. All of these things will scream confidence and naturalness. Then inject yourself in a conversation you know nothing about and have the same recording or friend observing.

See how all those nonverbal aspects change for you when you try to inject an intelligent thought into a conversation you know nothing about. This exercise shows you the difference in being natural and not being natural. The person(s) you are conversing with will be able to see it

easily, which will kill all chances of successful elicitation. How do you seem natural in conversations? Thus we arrive at step 2.

2. Educate yourself. You must have knowledge of what it is you will be talking to your targets about.

It is imperative that you not pretend you are more than you can reasonably be believed you are.

Confused? Here’s an example to break it down. If you wanted to obtain the chemical composition for a top-secret product and your elicitation target is one of the chemists involved in making the product, and you decide to start talking chemistry, do not play yourself off as a world class chemist (unless you are). He may throw something at you that will show you know nothing and then your cover is blown and so is the elicitation.

A more realistic approach may be that you are a research student studying XYZ, and was told he had amazing knowledge in this area. Due to his expertise, you just wanted to ask him a question on a chemical formula you are working on and why it doesn’t seem to be working out.

The point is that whatever you chose to converse about and whomever with, do research, practice, and be prepared. Have enough knowledge to speak intelligently about a topic that will interest the target.

3. Don’t be greedy. Of course, the goal is to get information, get answers, and be given the key to the kingdom. Yet, do not let that be the focus. That you are only there for yourself will quickly become evident and the target will lose interest. Often, giving someone something will elicit the feeling of reciprocation, where he or she now feels obligated to give you something in return. Being this way in conversation is important.

Make the conversation a give and take, unless you are conversing with a person who wants to dominate the conversation. If he wants to dominate, let him. But if you get a few answers, feel the conversation out and don’t get greedy trying to go deeper and deeper, which can raise a red flag.

Sometimes the people who are labeled as the “best conversationalists” in the world are those who do more listening than talking. These three steps to successful elicitation can literally change the way you converse with people daily, and not just as a social engineer or a security auditor, but as an everyday person. I personally like to add one or two steps to the “top three.”

For example, an important aspect to elicitation is facial expressions during a conversation. Having your gaze be too intense or too relaxed can affect the way people react to your questions. If your words are calm and you have engaged the target in a conversation but your body language or facial expressions show disinterest, it can affect the mood of the person, even if she doesn’t realize it.

As a social engineer approaches a target her “spirit” or energy will affect the person’s perception. The energy is portrayed through body language, facial expressions, dress, and grooming, and then the words spoken to back that up. Without even knowing it, people pick up on these things. Have you ever thought or heard someone say, “That guy gave me the creeps” or “She looked like such a nice person”?

How does that work? The person’s spirit or energy is relayed to your “sensors,” that data is correlated with past experiences, and then a judgment is formed. People do it instantaneously, many times without even knowing it. So your energy when you are going to elicit must match the role you are going to play. If your personality or mental makeup doesn’t enable you to easily play a manager then don’t try. Work with what you have. Personally, I have always been a people person and my strong suit is not topics like chemistry or advanced math. If I were in the situation mentioned earlier I would not try to play the role of a person who knows about those things. Instead my elicitation might be as simple as a stranger interested in starting a conversation about the weather.

Whatever methods you chose to use, you can take certain steps to have the upper edge. One of these steps is called preloading.

Preloading denotes that you can do just what it says—preload targets with information or ideas on how you want them to react to certain information.

Preloading is often used in marketing messages; for example, in the national restaurant chain ads that show beautiful people laughing and enjoying the meal that looks so beautiful and perfect. As they say “yummm!” and “ohhh!” you can almost taste the food.

Of course as a social engineer you can’t run a commercial for your targets so how can you use preloading?

As with much in the social engineering world, you have to start from the end results and work backward. What is your goal? You might have the standard goal of elicitation to gain information from a target on a project she is working on or dates she will be in the office or on vacation. Whatever it is, you must set the goal first. Next you decide the type of questions that you want to ask, and then decide what type of information can preload a person to want to answer those questions.

One other really simplistic example before moving on: A friend walks up and says, “I have to tell you a really funny story.” What happens to you? You might even start smiling before the story starts and your anticipation is to hear something funny, so you look and wait for opportunities to laugh. He preloaded you and you anticipated the humor.

How do these principles work within the social engineering world?

Preloading is a skill in itself. Being able to plant ideas or thoughts in a way that is not obvious or overbearing sometimes takes more skill than the elicitation itself. Other times, depending on the goal, preloading can be quite complex.

How to become a successful Elicitator?