FOOTPRINTING CONCEPTS

 Defining Footprinting

 

 

Footprinting is an ethical hacking technique used to gather as much data as possible about a specific targeted computer system, an infrastructure and networks to identify opportunities to penetrate them. It is one of the best methods of finding vulnerabilities.

 

 How Does It Work?

The process of cybersecurity footprinting involves profiling organizations and collecting data about the network, host, employees and third-party partners. This information includes the OS used by the organization, firewalls, network maps, IP addresses, domain name system information, security configurations of the target machine, URLs, virtual private networks, staff IDs, email addresses and phone numbers.

 

Two types of  Footprinting  

1. Active Footprinting
   
2. Passive Footprinting
                        

 What is Active Footprinting?

Active footprinting describes the process of using tools and techniques, like using the traceroute commands or a ping sweep -- Internet Control Message Protocol sweep -- to collect data about a specific target. This often triggers the target's intrusion detection system (IDS). It takes a certain level of stealth and creativity to evade detection successfully. It can be simply said as when the hacker tries to perform footprinting by getting directly in touch with the targeted system, it is known as Active Footprinting.

 

What is Passive Footprinting?

On the other hand, when the attacker gathers information about the target system through openly available sources, it is known as Passive Footprinting. There are many such sources available on the internet from where hackers can get the necessary information about the organizations or individuals. As the name implies, passive footprinting involves collecting data about a specific target using innocuous methods, like performing a Google search, looking through Archive.org, using NeoTrace, browsing through employees' social media profiles, looking at job sites and using Whois, a website that provides the domain names and associated networks fora specific organization. It is a stealthier approach to footprinting because it does not trigger the target's IDS.

 

Information Obtained Through Footprinting

Following are the various types of information that are generally aimed at by the hackers through Footprinting:

• IP Addresses
• Whois Records
• Types of Applications used
• Presence of a Firewall
• Security Configurations
• Domain Names
• Network Numbers
• Authentication Mechanisms
• E-Mail addresses and Passwords
  

 

Forms of Footprinting

There are various forms and varieties of Footprinting. Some of them are as follows:

• E-Mail Footprinting
• Google Hacking
• Social Engineering
• Whois Footprinting
• Network Footprinting
• Website Footprinting

Tools for Footprinting

Hackers use various tools and methods for Footprinting. Some of them are explained below:

Google Hacking

‘Google Hacking’ is not technically hacking Google as the name suggests. Instead, it means smartly collecting the required information from the Google Search Engine. Hackers use very specific search results to get this information. Using advanced operators, they can get access to the organization’s servers and eventually harm the target systems.

Who is Lookup

Hackers use Whois Lookup to extract information from basic database queries like IP Address Block, Domain name, Location, and other critical data of the organization. Whois Lookup also acts as a pathway to Website Footprinting for hackers. The below steps form the initial phase of Whois Lookup:

• Open your browser and search for http://whois.domaintools.com/
• Feed the IP address or name of the organization to be targeted and click on ‘Search’
• The final output will display the details of the organization’s online presence
  

Social Engineering

Social Engineering is one of the most talked-about techniques in Footprinting. It refers to the carrying out of cyber-attacks through human interactions. Social engineering is carried out in multiple steps. Firstly, an investigation is carried out to gather the desired background information about the target victim.

Secondly, psychological manipulation is used to trick the victim into leaking confidential details and sensitive information. Social Engineering is usually carried out to get access to the weak points and vulnerabilities of the systems.

NeoTrace

A popular Graphical User Interface course tracer program, NeoTrace is one of the most used techniques for Footprinting in Network Security. It shows all the information regarding IP addresses, location, contact data of hubs, etc.

 

How do you start footprinting?

Reconnaissance is similar to footprinting and is a crucial part of the initial hacking exercise. It is a passive footprinting exercise where one collects data about the target's potential vulnerabilities and flaws to exploit while penetration testing.

Footprinting processes start with determining the location and objective of an intrusion. Once ethical hackers identify a specific target, they gather information about the organization using nonintrusive methods, such as accessing the organization's own webpage, personnel directory or employee bios.

Ethical hackers collect this information and initiate social engineering campaigns to identify security vulnerabilities and achieve ethical hacking goals.

 

 

Importance of Footprinting in Ethical Hacking

The following are some of the benefits of performing Footprinting :

• Identification of Vulnerabilities- If an Ethical Hacker is able to get access to sensitive data or is able to breach into the system, he/she can identify the open ports, vulnerabilities and can also figure out the type of attacks that the system can be prone to.

• Knowledge of Security Framework– Footprinting helps in knowing about the security stance of the organization. It tells about the security configurations, presence of a Firewall, etc. This helps the ethical hackers to know the threat aversion level of the system.

• Prediction of Attack type– Footprinting helps in studying the types of vulnerabilities and specific areas of the security framework to analyze the types of attacks that the system can be prone to.

 

Conclusion

Form the discussion above, we now have a fair idea of Footprinting, the process, and its importance in Ethical Hacking. Even though it is practiced by ethical hackers to safeguard the system from multiple threats and attacks, it is equally important for individuals and organizations to take measures to protect their data. Using VPNs, erasing all the important data available online, etc., can help a lot in securing confidential information from hackers. Any data available online forms a possible weakness in the security of your systems.

Since the techniques of Footprinting are ever-evolving, ethical hackers should keep themselves at pace because the hackers are possibly a step ahead.