Professional Penetration Testing, 2nd Edition

Chapter 6

Information Gathering

Abstract

This chapter examines the difference between passive and active information gathering within the context of a professional penetration testing. The need for information gathering is critical in understanding the target systems involved within the professional penetration test, and the more time spent on this task, the more successful the pentest will be overall.

Keywords

Information gathering

Passive

Active

Web

Archives

Web presence

Corporate data

Network perimeter

Contents

Introduction

Passive Information Gathering

Web Presence

Corporate Data

Whois and DNS Enumeration

Additional Internet Resources

Active Information Gathering

DNS Interrogation

E-mail Accounts

Perimeter Network Identification