setoolkit

setoolkit

The Social-Engineer Toolkit (SET) is a powerful and versatile open-source penetration testing framework designed to simulate various social engineering attacks.

It automates and simplifies many common attack vectors, making it easier to conduct realistic and effective security assessments. SET focuses on manipulating human behavior rather than exploiting software vulnerabilities.

This toolkit provides a wide range of attack modules, including spear-phishing, website cloning, credential harvesting, and payload delivery. It is primarily used by security professionals, penetration testers, and ethical hackers to evaluate an organization's security awareness and identify potential weaknesses in their human firewall.

The framework is written in Python and supports a wide range of platforms, including Linux, macOS, and Windows (via Cygwin or WSL).

Disclaimer: SET is a powerful tool that should only be used for ethical and legal purposes.

Using it to conduct unauthorized attacks is illegal and unethical. Be aware that some antivirus systems detect payloads delivered by SET as malware.

Spear-Phishing Attacks: Create and send customized email campaigns with malicious attachments or links.

Website Cloning: Clone legitimate websites to capture user credentials.

Credential Harvesting: Design login pages for various services (e.g., Gmail, Facebook) to steal usernames and passwords.

Payload Delivery: Generate and deliver payloads using various methods, including USB drives, email, and web browsers.

SMS Spoofing: Send SMS messages from spoofed phone numbers.

Java Applet Attacks: Exploit vulnerabilities in Java applets to gain access to target systems.

QR Code Attacks: Create malicious QR codes that redirect users to phishing websites or download malware.

When launched, SET provides a menu-driven interface for selecting different attack vectors.

The framework relies heavily on user input and requires careful planning to execute effective attacks.

Success often depends on social engineering skills and the ability to craft convincing scenarios.

SET was created by Dave Kennedy (ReL1K) and is maintained by TrustedSec.

It has grown from a simple collection of social engineering techniques to a comprehensive framework widely used in the security industry.

nmap(1), metasploit-framework