Certified Social Engineering Cyberattack Specialist (CSECS)

Certified Social Engineering Cyberattack Specialist (CSECS) Certification Course by Tonex

The Certified Social Engineering Cyberattack Specialist (CSECS) certification is a comprehensive training program that equips cybersecurity professionals, penetration testers, red teamers, and intelligence analysts with advanced expertise in social engineering attack techniques. This certification focuses on the psychology of deception, the manipulation of human behavior, and real-world exploitation tactics used to compromise individuals, organizations, and critical infrastructure.

The CSECS program goes beyond traditional security awareness training by teaching offensive and defensive social engineering methodologies. Participants will learn how to craft and execute realistic social engineering campaigns, including phishing, vishing, pretexting, baiting, impersonation, and deepfake-based deception. Additionally, the course explores physical infiltration techniques, social media exploitation, open-source intelligence (OSINT), and how attackers leverage cognitive biases to manipulate their targets.

This highly practical certification includes hands-on simulations, live attack demonstrations, and a final capstone project, ensuring participants gain real-world skills applicable in red teaming, penetration testing, cyber threat intelligence, and corporate security. Graduates will also learn counter-social engineering strategies to mitigate attacks, train employees, and implement multi-layered security defenses within an organization.

Certification Learning Objectives:

• Understand the psychology behind social engineering.
• Learn advanced deception tactics used in cyberattacks.
• Explore real-world case studies and attack methodologies.
• Develop hands-on skills in phishing, impersonation, pretexting, and baiting.
• Train in counter-social engineering defenses and mitigation strategies.
• Conduct live social engineering exercises and ethical penetration testing.

Who Should Get Certified?

This certification is ideal for professionals involved in offensive security, cyber intelligence, and security awareness training:

• Red Teamers & Penetration Testers – To simulate and test real-world social engineering threats.
• Cybersecurity Professionals & Blue Team Members – To recognize and mitigate human-targeted attacks.
• Ethical Hackers & Security Consultants – To gain expertise in social deception techniques.
• Law Enforcement & Intelligence Analysts – To investigate and counter cyber-enabled deception.
• Fraud Analysts & Risk Managers – To understand and prevent social engineering-driven fraud.
• Corporate Security & Awareness Trainers – To design employee training programs for social engineering defense.
• OSINT Analysts – To leverage Open-Source Intelligence for cyber investigations.

Course Modules:

Module 1: Introduction to Social Engineering

• Definition and history of social engineering attacks.
• The psychology of deception: cognitive biases, trust exploitation.
• Social engineering attack cycle: Information gathering, engagement, exploitation.
• Legal and ethical considerations.

Module 2: Human Vulnerabilities & Exploitation Tactics

• Psychological triggers: authority, urgency, reciprocity, curiosity.
• Manipulation through social constructs and digital deception.
• The role of emotions and cognitive load in decision-making.

Module 3: Pretexting & Impersonation Techniques

• Building believable pretexts and personas.
• Deepfake technology for voice and video spoofing.
• Impersonation of employees, IT personnel, law enforcement.
• Case study: Notable pretexting attacks and how they succeeded.

Module 4: Phishing, Vishing, and Smishing

• Crafting spear-phishing and whaling campaigns.
• Manipulating victims via phone (vishing) and SMS (smishing).
• Real-world phishing attack analysis and simulations.
• AI-driven phishing and automated phishing tools.

Module 5: Baiting & USB Drop Attacks

• The psychology behind baiting and curiosity exploitation.
• Malicious USB drops and digital honeytraps.
• QR code phishing and NFC-based exploits.

Module 6: Physical Social Engineering & On-Site Attacks

• Piggybacking and tailgating into secure locations.
• Dumpster diving for sensitive data.
• Social engineering penetration testing: infiltrating organizations.
• Case studies: How security was breached through in-person attacks.

Module 7: Social Media Exploitation & OSINT for Social Engineering

• Using Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) to craft attacks.
• Leveraging social media for reconnaissance and victim profiling.
• Creating fake profiles and deepfake-enhanced identities.
• Real-world case studies on social media exploitation.

Module 8: Countermeasures & Defense Strategies

• Psychological resilience and awareness training.
• Behavioral analysis for detecting deception.
• AI-driven social engineering detection tools.
• Enterprise-level policies and training for social engineering defense.

Certification Exam Assessment:

• Theory Exam: 50+ multiple-choice and scenario-based questions.
• Final Capstone Project: Develop a full-fledged social engineering attack simulation and provide countermeasure recommendations.

Certification Badge & Renewal

• Certification is valid for 3 years.
• Renewal requires either a recertification exam or proof of social engineering training participation.