Security Testing - Footprinting

Footprinting

Footprinting is the process of gathering the blueprint of a particular system or a network and the devices that are attached to the network under consideration. It is the first step that a penetration tester uses to evaluate the security of a web application.

After footprinting, a penetration tester can understand the pulse of a hacker. It is good to understand the complete system before testing its modules.

Footprinting Steps

• Information gathering
• Determining the range of the network
• Identifying active machines
• Identifying open ports and access points
• OS fingerprinting
• Fingerprinting services
• Mapping the network

Tools Used in Footprinting

Following are the common set of tools used in footprinting −

• Whois
• SmartWhois
• NsLookup
• Sam Spade

Other Techniques Used in Footprinting

Footprinting may also involve collecting information such as −

• Company contact names, email addresses, and phone numbers
• Company deals and other parties involved
• News on mergers and acquisitions
• Links to other company-related sites
• Company's privacy policies

Flow Diagram