ETHICAL HACKING | INFORMATION GATHERING | INTRODUCTION

INFORMATION GATHERING

Information Gathering and getting to know the target systems us the first step in Ethical Hacking. Reconnaissance is a set of processes and techniques of 

• Footprinting
• Scanning
• Enumeration

These are collectively used to descover and collect information about a target system.

In Reconnaissance, an ethical hacker attempts to gather as much as information about the target system as possible, following the 7 steps listed below-

• Gather Initial Information
• Determine the network range
• Identify active machines
• Discover open poprts and access points
• Fingerprint the operating systems
• Uncover services on ports
• Map the network

Reconnaissance takes place in two steps - 

1. ACTIVE RECONNAISSANCE - In this process, you will directly interact with the computer system to gain information. This information can be relevent and accurate. But there is a risk of getting detedted if you are planning active reconnaissance without permission.
2. PASSIVE RECONNAISSANCE - In this process, You will not be directly connected to a computer system. This process is used to gather essential information without ever interacting with the target system.

Let us discuss the steps involved in Information Gathering in the subsequent articles.