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Christopher Hadnagy

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Christopher J. Hadnagy
General Keith Alexander (left) offers Chris Hadnagy the NSA Director's challenge coin at DEF CON 20.
Born
Christopher James Hadnagy
Occupation(s)Information technology consultant, author
Organization(s)Innocent Lives Foundation, Social-Engineer, LLC
Websitewww.social-engineer.com

Christopher James Hadnagy is an American author and information technology security consultant. He is recognized for his contributions to the field of social engineering in information security.[1] He established the Innocent Lives Foundation. He contributed to DEF CON and was later permanently banned from it for code of conduct violations.[2]

Career

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Hadnagy is the founder and CEO of Social-Engineer LLC, a company specializing in education and training in social engineering.[3] He established Social-Engineer.Org, an IT security education website.[4]

Hadnagy has contributed to the information security industry, including developing a social engineering framework, producing a newsletter, and hosting a podcast focused on the subject.[5]

He is an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations.[6]

Charitable foundation

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In 2017, Hadnagy founded the Innocent Lives Foundation,[7] dedicated to protecting children from online predators by investigating child exploitation, sexual abuse, trafficking, and the production of child sexual abuse material. The foundation collaborates with information security professionals, uses open-source intelligence (OSINT), and works with law enforcement agencies in the United States. The foundation has support from actor Erin Gray.[8]

In 2019, Vice reported that the Innocent Lives Foundation sold Network Investigative Techniques, hacking tools for identifying anonymous individuals, to the FBI for $250,000.[9]

DEF CON

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Hadnagy contributed to DEF CON by helping create a social engineering competition in 2009 and sponsoring one of the first social engineering capture the flag events in 2010.[10][11]

Hadnagy was permanently banned from DEF CON in 2022 for code of conduct violations, a decision he publicly disputed.[12] He sued DEF CON for harm to his reputation.[13][14][15] In February 2025, details of the harassment allegations against him were published in a motion for summary judgment.[2] In May 2025, the judge dismissed Hadnagy's lawsuit because he could not prove the claims against him were false.[16][17]

BSides Cleveland

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In 2021, Security BSides in Cleveland Ohio featured Hadnagy as an unlisted "special guest" speaker.[18] Controversy surrounding his participation and speaking led to several other speakers withdrawing from the event in the moment of speaking.[19]

Books

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Christopher Hadnagy has authored several books on social engineering, including:

  • Social Engineering: The Science of Human Hacking (2018, John Wiley & Sons Inc.) ISBN 978-1-119-43338-5[20]
  • Unmasking the Social Engineer: The Human Element of Security (2014, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) ISBN 978-1-118-60857-9
  • Phishing Dark Waters: The Offensive and Defensive Sides of Malicious E-mails (2015, John Wiley & Sons Inc.), co-authored with Michele Fincher and Robin Dreeke ISBN 978-1-118-95847-6
  • Social Engineering: The Art of Human Hacking (2010, Wiley Publishing, Inc.) ISBN 978-0-470-63953-5[21]
  • Human Hacking: Win Friends, Influence People, and Leave Them Better Off for Having Met You (2021, Harper Business) ISBN 978-0-063-00178-7

References

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  1. ^ Hiltner, Stephen (September 24, 2018). "When Reporting on Defcon, Avoid Stereotypes and A.T.M.s". The New York Times. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  2. ^ a b Jones, Connor (February 25, 2025). "Harassment allegations against DEF CON veteran detailed in court filing". Retrieved February 26, 2025.
  3. ^ "Hacking humans: social engineering and the power of influence". ABC Radio National. March 16, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  4. ^ Goodchild, Joan (October 17, 2011). "New social engineering poll reveals which scam works better". CSO Online. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  5. ^ Yadron, Danny (April 20, 2015). "The Man Who Hacks Your Employees". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  6. ^ "Cyber Operations - Cyber Faculty". The University of Arizona, College of Applied Science & Technology. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
  7. ^ Larson, Selena (August 14, 2017). "Hacker creates organization to unmask child predators". CNNMoney. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  8. ^ "Actress Erin Gray talks about The Innocent Lives Foundation". CBS News. September 20, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  9. ^ Cox, Joseph (March 25, 2021). "FBI Paid Anti-Child Predator Charity $250,000 for Hacking Tools". Vice. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  10. ^ Uchill, Joe (August 3, 2015). "Chris Hadnagy on the Def Con hackers posing as your coworkers". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  11. ^ "DefCon contest to spotlight social engineering". CSO Online. July 6, 2010. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  12. ^ Nichols, Shaun (February 10, 2022). "DEF CON bans social engineering expert Chris Hadnagy". TechTarget. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  13. ^ Hetzner, Christiaan (August 19, 2022). "Star social engineer dubbed the 'human hacker' sues Def Con after receiving permanent ban". Fortune. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  14. ^ Faife, Corin (August 18, 2022). "Def Con banned a social engineering star — now he's suing". The Verge. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  15. ^ Wright, Rob (January 16, 2023). "Judge dismisses Chris Hadnagy lawsuit against DEF CON". TechTarget. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  16. ^ Volokh, Eugene (May 13, 2025). "Defamation Lawsuit Against Def Con Cybersecurity Conference Dismissed". Reason.com. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  17. ^ Jones, Connor (May 16, 2025). "Defamation case against DEF CON terminated with prejudice". The Register. Retrieved May 31, 2025.
  18. ^ "Security BSides Response to the BSides Cleveland Incident". Security Bsides. June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  19. ^ Jones, Connor (June 21, 2022). "Security BSides commits to greater conference diversity after speaker backlash". IT PRO. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  20. ^ Chukkath, Meghna (September 1, 2024). "Book review: Christopher Hadnagy, Social Engineering: The Science of Human Hacking". Indian Journal of Public Administration. 70 (3): 652–654. doi:10.1177/00195561241257404. ISSN 0019-5561.
  21. ^ BillV (July 26, 2018). "Book Review: Social Engineering: The Science of Human Hacking". Security Boulevard. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
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