HackTheBox — Information Gathering

Information gathering (Enumeration) is the very crucial first step we need to perform before engaging in a penetration test. Getting to know the target’s infrastructures not only saves us time but also helps us plan and orchestrate our attacks.Failure to efficiently gather information may result in missing flaws that otherwise thorough enumeration would have uncovered.The main objectives of enumeration is to find out information about these areas: Domains & subdomains, IP ranges, Infrastructure and virtual hosts. These are the building blocks that make up the target’s infrastructures.There are two types of enumerations: passive and activePassive enumeration is involved in gathering publicly available information about the target like IP Addresses, DNS, domains registration, social media, etc.Below are a few key points that help use differentiate passive and active enumerations**Objective:** Gather information without directly contacting the target.
**Techniques:** Collect data from publicly available sources, DNS records, WHOIS databases, and search engines.
**Advantages:**
Non-intrusive: No direct interaction with the target.
Stealthy: Doesn't trigger alerts.
**Limitations:**
Limited depth: Only publicly accessible information.
May not reveal internal network details.This is the phase in which we interact with the target: running nmap scans, discovering ports, domains, subdomain and virtual hosts, etc. Because this is a sensitive phase, we need to make sure that we get permissions from the target company before getting started to avoid any legal issues.Another important note is that we need to make sure to stay within scope of testing. During the enumeration process, we may find some out-of-scope information & we should totally ignore them.**Objective:** Interact directly with the target systems and networks.
**Techniques:**
Network Scanning: Identify live hosts, open ports, and running services.
Service Enumeration: Gather detailed information about services (e.g., version numbers…