Reconnaissance

In this first phase, before taking any action, the attacker must be prepared by carrying out an information-gathering exercise on the target. The attacker collects, from many sources, every piece of publicly available sensitive information, such as target clients, employees, and network information. At the end of this phase, the hacker will have a clear view of the network (domain name, IP ranges, TCP/UDP services, and authentication mechanisms), the system (user/group names, system banners, and system architecture), and organizational information (employee details, press released, and location). There are two types of reconnaissance or footprinting.