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Christopher Hadnagy
American information security consultant From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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]
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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
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
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
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]
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Books
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
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References
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