Week 3: Training

This week, I continue my training on pentesting that I began last week. Doing this has helped me learn more and more about pentesting, why it’s important, and how it is conducted.

One thing I learned this week is the process of reconnaissance. Reconnaissance is the information-gathering stage of pentesting, where you collect data about the target system. There are two types of reconnaissance: passive and active. With active reconnaissance, hackers interact directly with the computer system and attempt to obtain information through techniques like automated scanning or manual testing. Active reconnaissance is generally faster and more accurate, but is riskier because it creates more disturbance in a system and has a higher chance of being detected. Passive reconnaissance, on the other hand, gathers information about targeted computer networks without directly interacting with them, making it the safer and more popular method.

Reconnaissance is essential for successfully conducting a pentest, and it is something I will carry out as I conduct my own pentests.