The reconnaissance or information-gathering phase is where the attacker focuses on acquiring meaningful information about their target. This is the most important phase in hacking: the more details known about the target, the easier it is to compromise a weakness and exploit it.
The following are techniques used in the reconnaissance phase:
- Using search engines to gather information
- Using social networking platforms
- Performing Google hacking
- Performing DNS interrogation
- Social engineering
In this phase, the objective is to gather as much information as possible about the target. In the next section, we will discuss using a more directed approach, and engage the target to get more specific and detailed information.