Social-Engineer Toolkit (SET)
An open-source penetration testing framework designed for social engineering.
Overview
The Social-Engineer Toolkit (SET) is an open-source framework for simulating various types of social engineering attacks, such as phishing, credential harvesting, and malicious payload delivery. Created by TrustedSec, it integrates with other tools like Metasploit to create believable and effective attack scenarios.
✨ Key Features
- Spear-phishing attack vector
- Website attack vectors (credential harvester, java applet, etc.)
- Infectious media generator (for USB/CD/DVD)
- Mass mailer attack
- Payload and listener creation
- Integration with Metasploit Framework
🎯 Key Differentiators
- Open-source and highly customizable.
- Focuses on technical attack vectors for social engineering, not just training.
- Deep integration with Metasploit for payload delivery.
Unique Value: Provides a powerful, free, and flexible framework for security professionals to simulate real-world social engineering attacks to test human and technical controls.
🎯 Use Cases (4)
✅ Best For
- Creating credential harvesting websites that clone legitimate login pages.
- Conducting spear-phishing campaigns to test employee awareness.
- Generating malicious files to be delivered via email or physical media.
💡 Check With Vendor
Verify these considerations match your specific requirements:
- Technical vulnerability scanning.
- Network exploitation.
- Web application analysis.
🏆 Alternatives
Unlike commercial alternatives focused on training platforms, SET is a hands-on offensive tool designed for penetration testers to execute attacks and gain access.
💻 Platforms
✅ Offline Mode Available
🔌 Integrations
💰 Pricing
Free tier: The tool is completely free and open-source.
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