Module 2: Footprinting & Reconnaissance

Section 1: Footprinting Concepts

Footprinting and reconnaissance is the process of gathering as much information as possible about an organization before initiating cyber attacks.

What is Footprinting?

The process of collecting information about a remote organization on external systems and networks before the actual hacking begins. Also known as information gathering.

Purpose

• Discover potential attack vectors
• Identify security weaknesses
• Understand the target's infrastructure

Section 2: Passive vs Active Reconnaissance

Passive: Gathering information without directly interacting with the target system (harder to detect).

Active: Interacting directly with the target system (easier to detect).

Section 3: OSINT Tools & Sources

• Google Dorking: Advanced Google search operators
• TheHarvester: Emails, subdomains, hosts
• Shodan: Internet-connected device search
• Censys: Search engine for internet-hosted objects
• Maltego: Data mining and graph visualization

DNS Record Types

• A: IPv4 address | AAAA: IPv6 address
• MX: Mail exchange | NS: Name server
• CNAME: Canonical name (alias)
• TXT: Text records (SPF, DKIM)