Which of the following penetration testing phases involves reconnaissance or data gathering?

The correct answer is B. Pre-attack phase. Penetration testing is typically divided into three phases: Pre-attack, Attack, and Post-attack. The Pre-attack phase (B) is where the tester performs reconnaissance and data gathering - this includes passive and active footprinting, open-source intelligence (OSINT) collection…

Reconnaissance, Scanning, and Enumeration

Question

Options

AAttack phase
BPre-attack phase
CPost-attack phase
DOut-attack phase

How the community answered

(13 responses)

B
92% (12)
D
8% (1)

Explanation

Penetration testing is typically divided into three phases: Pre-attack, Attack, and Post-attack. The Pre-attack phase (B) is where the tester performs reconnaissance and data gathering - this includes passive and active footprinting, open-source intelligence (OSINT) collection, network scanning, and enumeration of targets. This phase establishes the attack surface before any exploitation begins. The Attack phase involves actively exploiting discovered vulnerabilities. The Post-attack phase covers cleanup, restoring systems to their original state, and reporting findings. 'Out-attack phase' (D) is not a recognized phase in standard penetration testing methodology. Therefore, the correct answer is B.

Topics

#penetration testing phases#pre-attack phase#reconnaissance

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