When you encounter a person,
whether through design of your scenario or because you have bumped
into someone in a situation that was unexpected during your
engagement, there are several ways that you can help your situation
and ideally remove yourself from it, or even better, convince them to
allow you access to somewhere else.
It is often helpful to have a backlog of stories and scenarios
in mind before attempting an assessment.
Try to come up with plausible reasons for being in the locations
you might encounter. People hate confrontation.
This does not mean you should attempt to start an argument with anyone,
but you can use subtle techniques on them.
If someone asks you who you are and what you're doing,
you can turn this around on them and start to interrogate them and
start challenging them on why they are challenging you.
Be careful of this as depending on which country you are in,
cultural differences will play into this.
Some countries will be more confrontational up front,
but back down very quickly when confronted in return. Others will be less
likely to confront, but escalate quickly when they finally do.
Some cultures allow you to take advantage of the
hierarchical nature of their culture,
so playing the part of an authoritative figure in the company will work easily.
You should also be cautious of those countries where people could be
carrying firearms. Techniques drawn from disciplines such as
neuro‑linguistic programming, such as the handshake interrupt, can be
utilized or modified for social engineering attacks,
causing a loud bang,
such as slapping a desk hard whilst asking for something, can
cause a moment of confusion to the target and cause them to do
something they normally wouldn't.
I have used this technique effectively in the past.
In fact,
once even getting a receptionist to give me a valid badge
without checking my identification.
Don't be afraid to be charming. A smile and some
friendly conversation can go a long way.
Sometimes you may find it more effective to appear upset,
distracted or hurried to convince those around you to
either comply or even avoid you.
As the old saying goes,
you will catch more flies with honey than vinegar,
so use the latter with caution.
If you feel uncomfortable with this type of role play,
I suggest finding a short course on improvisation at a local theater or
even consider taking acting classes or even training with friends and
family. Utilize a mobile phone to your advantage,
Make sure it's off or even call a colleague.
You can then use this as a way to prevent people approaching or
talking to you or as a way to gain information such as
bypassing a specific piece of equipment.
You can also use it for taking secret photos and videos of people
entering key codes into doors or alarm systems.
One technique I almost always use that plays on the psychology of
perception is as soon as I enter a building,
I will as quickly as possible make my way to the topmost floor.
This allows you to always be coming down stairs or elevators, and
generally most buildings are laid out with the upper management and more
important departments being physically above others.
This can lead employees to assuming you are one of those
people without even talking to you.
This is an incredibly powerful system and I've used it
on almost all of my assessments.
It is always important to know when you should run
away or when to hold your cool.
For example,
in one assessment I bumped into a security guard and pretended I was lost.
He ushered me into a nearby security control room whilst he helped me out.
He left the room for a moment, and in the room was a bunch
of blank security badges and obviously I had my chance to
escape with some; however, I held my cool,
took this photo, and waited for his return. When he returned, he failed to
check out my story correctly and even ended up giving me a new security badge
with additional access to some restricted areas.
If you ever feel yourself getting overwhelmed,
pursued or even feel under suspicion, never be above hiding,
especially holding up in the toilet for a while. Toilets are
great places to avoid confrontation and often have hidden exit
points such as false ceilings, windows, etc.
If you do happen to find yourself needing to make a quick escape,
this is a great place to do it.