White-Hot Hack (Kate and Ian #2)(13)

“There’s definitely more competition now,” Phillip agreed.

“And they’re all offering something I don’t. Unfortunately, most of the companies I’ve pitched to won’t even consider hiring a security firm unless they include social engineering as part of their pentesting.”

“What is social engineering, exactly?” Kate asked. She had a vague notion but wasn’t clear on the details.

“Social engineering is human hacking,” Phillip said. “It can be computer based—sending someone a phishing e-mail with bogus links—or it can be done in person using human interaction and manipulation to gain physical entry or access to information. You’ve actually done it yourself, Kate. Remember when you went to the auto-storage facility and talked to the employee to find out if anyone had been there asking questions? You were pretending to be someone else in order to get the facts you needed.”

“I said I was Ian’s attorney. I also let the guy look down my shirt.”

“What?” Ian said, turning his head sharply to look at her. “You never mentioned that.”

“He was like, nineteen.” Kate shrugged as if it were an inconsequential detail. “And I was in dire need of information, Rhion.” She looked at him pointedly.

“Let me top off your wine, sweetness.”

She smiled and handed him her glass.

Phillip continued. “The man who came into the food pantry was more than likely the hacker who doxed Ian, and I think we can all agree that Zach Nielsen was not his real name. He was using social engineering tactics to try to catch Kate in a lie.”

Ian draped his arm across the back of Kate’s chair. “He had no idea how smart you were.”

“You could outsource your social engineering, especially the physical entry portion,” Phillip said.

Ian shook his head. “I could, but the only three people I trust with any of my business—professional, personal, or otherwise—are sitting at this table.”

“Maybe the solution is right in front of you,” Phillip said tilting his head toward Kate.

When Kate realized what Phillip meant, she almost flew out of her chair. “Yes! I could help you.”

“Why, thank you for opening this can of worms, Phillip,” Ian said.

“Phillip,” Susan said, gently admonishing him.

“Women make great social engineers,” Phillip argued. “I’d go as far as to say they’re better at it than men. People are more trusting of women.”

“This particular woman is my wife.”

“It was just a suggestion.”

“I’m sure things will turn around eventually. I’ll just keep plugging away.”

Ian must have noticed the disappointment on her face because he squeezed her shoulder and said, “I will think about it, okay? But right now what I’m really interested in is that pie Susan brought for dessert.”



The next morning Kate read everything she could find on social engineering. The art of talking your way past a company’s receptionist or entering a building without a badge sounded wildly exciting to her.

She went into Ian’s office and sat down on the new leather couch Jade had delivered, which they’d placed adjacent to his desk. It was the perfect addition to the room, and Kate could occasionally be found lying on it, reading a book while Ian worked. “I could do the social engineering for you.”

“I know you could, but I don’t want you to.”

“But Phillip said you needed help.”

“Listen, Phillip is the closest thing I have to a father figure, but he’s very ‘goal oriented,’ which is fine, but not when it involves my wife. And we both know it doesn’t matter if this company is successful or not.”

“Of course it matters.”

“It’s not like we need the money. If I lose out on a few clients, so what?”

“It’s not about the money. It’s about your happiness.”

“I’m not unhappy. A little frustrated maybe, but it’s not a big deal.”

“The thing is, I think I’d be really good at it.”

“I know you’d be good at it.”

“Then why don’t you want me to do it? I read everything I could find. It’s not dangerous.” The best part about social engineering was that the client wanted to see if you could get past their employees, and they gave you explicit permission to try.

“I just don’t.”

When she didn’t say anything, he pushed his chair back and sat down next to her on the couch. He reached for her hand. “The morning you brought me your laptop and asked me to take a look at it because it was running slow was one of the worst moments of my life. It felt like being sucker punched. I’d always assumed that being doxed meant they’d come after me. The way I felt when I realized it was you they’d targeted was like nothing I’d ever felt before, and I will carry that guilt with me for the rest of my life. Social engineering might not be dangerous, but it requires a considerable amount of deception, and people have been known to get angry when they catch you doing it even if you have every right to be there. I don’t want to put you in that kind of situation.”

She didn’t push because she knew there would be no convincing him. “You’ll let me know if you change your mind?”