100-160 Question 181
Single answerA cybersecurity technician is tasked with identifying vulnerabilities in a company's network. They decide to use both active and passive reconnaissance techniques. Which of the following actions is an example of an active reconnaissance technique?
- A
Scanning the network for open ports using Nmap
- B
Monitoring publicly available social media posts for sensitive information
- C
Inspecting DNS records through passive DNS analysis
- D
Reviewing historical data from a threat intelligence platform
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
Active reconnaissance involves directly interacting with the target system to gather information, such as scanning for open ports or vulnerabilities. This activity can be detected by the target. Passive reconnaissance, on the other hand, relies on gathering publicly available or historical information without directly interacting with the target. In this scenario, scanning the network using Nmap is the only example of active reconnaissance.
- A. Correct.
Scanning the network for open ports using Nmap is an active reconnaissance technique because it involves directly interacting with the target system to collect information, which could potentially alert the target to the testing activity.
- B. Incorrect.
Monitoring publicly available social media posts for sensitive information is a passive reconnaissance technique because it does not involve direct interaction with the target system.
- C. Incorrect.
Inspecting DNS records through passive DNS analysis is a passive reconnaissance technique since it involves analyzing publicly available data without interacting with the target system directly.
- D. Incorrect.
Reviewing historical data from a threat intelligence platform is a passive reconnaissance technique as it relies on pre-existing information that doesn't require direct interaction with the target.