The Art of Deception
The Art of Deception by Kevin D. Mitnick and William L. Simon chronicles social engineering attacks and the psychology behind them. Through case studies, it explains how attackers exploit trust, authority, and urgency to persuade people into revealing secrets or granting access to systems.
The authors provide defensive practices—policy design, awareness training, verification procedures—that reduce exposure to manipulation. The book is essential context for strategies that rely on planting narratives or exploiting human factors as part of competitive play.