Footprinting
Attack Pattern ID: 169 (Standard Attack Pattern Completeness: Stub)Typical Severity: Very LowStatus: Draft
+ Description

Summary

An attacker engages in probing and exploration activity to identify constituents and properties of the target. Footprinting is a general term to describe a variety of information gathering techniques, often used by attackers in preparation for some attack. It consists of using tools to learn as much as possible about the composition, configuration, and security mechanisms of the targeted network. Information that might be collected during a footprinting effort could include open ports, applications and their versions, network topology, and similar information. While footprinting is not intended to be damaging (although certain activities, such as network scans, can sometimes cause disruptions to vulnerable applications inadvertently) it may often pave the way for more damaging attacks.

+ Attack Prerequisites

None. Any system or network that can be detected can be footprinted. However, some configuration choices may limit the useful information that can be collected during a footprinting attack.

+ Resources Required

The attacker requires a variety of tools to collect information about the target. These include port and network scanners and tools to analyze responses from applications to determine version and configuration information. Footprinting a system adequately may also take a few days if the attacker wishes the footprinting attempt to go undetected.

+ Related Attack Patterns
NatureTypeIDNameDescriptionView(s) this relationship pertains toView\(s\)
ChildOfAttack PatternAttack Pattern281Analytic Attacks 
Mechanism of Attack (primary)1000
ParentOfAttack PatternAttack Pattern85Client Network Footprinting (using AJAX/XSS) 
Mechanism of Attack (primary)1000
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