The Hitchhiker’s Guide To Initial Access

This blog post outlines a practical approach to phishing-driven initial access, framing adversary simulation through the phases of Survival, Enquiry, and Sophistication while advocating for targeting “people like us” to exploit familiarity and bias. It offers guidance on crafting persuasive phishing content, assessing risk tolerance over time, and leveraging common attack vectors such as Microsoft Office macros, Excel automation, obfuscation tools, and creative social engineering ideas to improve success rates.