Reconnaissance in hacking refers to the information-gathering phase of a Ethical Hacking or Pen-Testing. The goal of reconnaissance is to gather as much information as possible about a target before launching an attack. This can include information about the target’s network architecture, software and hardware configurations, and other details that can be used to plan an attack. Reconnaissance can be done using a variety of tools and techniques, such as network scanning, whois lookups, and social engineering.
There are many different techniques that can be used for reconnaissance in hacking, and the specific method or combination of methods used will depend on the target and the goals of the attacker. Some common techniques include:
- Network scanning: This involves using tools to scan a target’s IP address or range of addresses to identify open ports and services. This can reveal information about the target’s network architecture and potential vulnerabilities.
- Whois lookups: This involves querying a whois database to gather information about the ownership and registration of a domain or IP address. This can reveal information about the target’s organization and potentially identify individuals who work there.
- Social engineering: This involves using psychological manipulation to trick individuals into revealing information. This can include phishing emails, pretexting (creating a false identity to gain trust), and baiting (offering something of value to lure the victim into providing information).
- Open-source intelligence (OSINT) gathering: This involves using publicly available information from various sources such as social media, company websites, press releases, or other public records to gather information about the target, it’s employees, customers or infrastructure.
- Footprinting: This involves the process of gathering information about the target’s systems and infrastructure, mainly about their network and system details and access points.
All these techniques and methods help the attacker to build a comprehensive profile of the target, this information can then be used to plan and execute a more effective attack.
There are 2 Types of Reconnaissance Methods.
1. Active Reconnaissance
2. Passive Reconnaissance
What is Active Reconnaissance?
Active reconnaissance refers to a type of reconnaissance in which the attacker actively interacts with a target’s systems or network to gather information. This is in contrast to passive reconnaissance, in which the attacker only observes and gathers information without directly interacting with the target.
Active reconnaissance techniques can include:
- Port scanning: actively connecting to ports on a target system to identify which ones are open and potentially vulnerable
- Vulnerability scanning: actively attempting to identify known vulnerabilities on a target system
- Attempting to access or login to a target’s system with guessed or commonly used credentials
- Attempting to exploit a known vulnerability to gain access to a target’s system.
Active reconnaissance is more likely to be detected by the target than passive reconnaissance, but it also provides more detailed and accurate information about the target’s systems and vulnerabilities.
This kind of reconnaissance technique are considered more aggressive and can raise the alarm for security teams, it may also cause damage to the systems, or alert the defenders to the presence of an attacker. For this reason, active reconnaissance is typically only used when passive reconnaissance techniques have been exhausted and more detailed information is needed.
What is Passive Reconnaissance?
Passive reconnaissance refers to a type of reconnaissance in which the attacker only observes and gathers information about a target without directly interacting with it. Passive reconnaissance techniques are typically less aggressive and less likely to be detected by the target than active reconnaissance techniques.
Some examples of passive reconnaissance techniques include:
- Footprinting: studying publicly available information about a target’s systems and infrastructure, such as IP address ranges, domain names, and company information.
- OSINT (Open-source intelligence) gathering: gathering information from publicly available sources, such as social media, company websites, press releases, or other public records.
- Observing network traffic: using tools to monitor and analyze network traffic in order to gather information about a target’s systems and vulnerabilities.
- Social Engineering : using psychological manipulation to trick individuals into revealing information, such as phishing emails or baiting.
Passive reconnaissance provides a general and less detailed view about the target and its systems, and can be used in the initial stage of the attack. The information gathered from passive reconnaissance can be used to plan further attacks or to decide the level of aggressiveness in the next stage of reconnaissance. It is less likely to be detected by the target and less likely to cause disruption to the target’s systems or network.
