CEH Reconnaissance Interview Questions & Answers

Introduction

Reconnaissance in the context of CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) refers to the initial phase of a security assessment where ethical hackers gather information about a target system or network. This phase is crucial as it helps understand the potential attack surface and vulnerabilities that could be exploited. Learn in-depth from these questions and answers.

Q1. Can You Explain the Significance of TCP Sequence Numbers in Reconnaissance?

Ans: Reconnaissance attacks such as session hijacking and packet spoofing are based on adequately functioning TCP sequence numbers. These numbers are crucial in keeping a TCP session in order of arriving packets. In reconnaissance, an attacker can assess these numbers and project others to follow, producing packets that appear to belong to a running session. Understanding TCP sequence numbers is essential for offensive and defensive cybersecurity strategies, as this technique can intercept or inject malicious data into a session.

Q2. Why is Banner Grabbing Relevant as Part of the Reconnaissance Phase in a Cyber Attack?

Ans: Banner grabbing is a form of recon reconnaissance used to collect information on the target system. It involves requesting a system and studying the replies to obtain data such as operating system versions and service types. This information is essential to attackers, who can use it to locate weaknesses and plan other phases of an attack. With properly carried out banner grabbing, sensitive information about the system could be revealed, helping develop more focused and efficient exploits.

Q3. What Are Some Typical Responses to Reconnaissance Activities?

Ans: Several measures can help mitigate reconnaissance. Turning off unwanted services and ports can reduce the attack surface. Firewalls and intrusion detection systems can control illegal activities. Keeping systems updated and patching existing breaches reduces the exploitation of already-known weaknesses. Also, hiding system details such as banners and error messages can restrict the information that attackers receive during the initial intelligence-gathering phase.

Q4. How Do Tools like Nmap Contribute to the Reconnaissance Process?

Ans: Nmap is a potent network scanner tool used during reconnaissance for penetration testing and cyber attacks. It allows users to find hosts and services on the computer network and shows how many computers in its structure are working. It helps analyze the surrounding environment and decide on the following attack strategies. Nmap provides a variety of ways to perform network scans, along with many output formats that are useful to attackers and defenders in cybersecurity.

Q5. What is the Wayback Machine’s Place in Cyber Reconnaissance?

Ans: The Wayback Machine is an online archive of the World Wide Web and may serve as an invaluable source for cyber reconnaissance. It enables attackers to view old editions of the web pages, which may reveal deleted or modified information. It could be anything from old contact details, hidden folders, or obsolete web applications with well-documented vulnerabilities. With this data, this historical information can point out weaknesses in the target’s web evolution, showing possible attack avenues for cyber attackers.

Q6. How Crucial is Google Hacking in Reconnaissance?

Ans: Google hacking involves using sophisticated search queries to find information about a target that may have been leaked online. This passive reconnaissance can disclose sensitive information, misconfigured servers, or other vulnerable targets. However, some operators and keywords could help the attackers locate any exposed data, login portal, or anything else that might be used. The strength of this technique lies in its simplicity and the fact that search engines index so much data.

Q7. What is the Effect of Cloud-Based or Third-Party Systems on Reconnaissance?

Ans: Reconnaissance becomes more complicated when dealing with cloud-based and third-party systems. Although these systems usually have robust security and are rigorously monitored, they pose uncommon exposures because attackers could leverage their integrated nature to exploit them. Understanding the specific configurations and security protocols of these systems is crucial for both attackers aiming to exploit them and defenders working to protect them.

Q8. What are The Ethics in the Conduct of Reconnaissance During Penetration Testing?

Ans: In ethics, the questions of legality and permission are concerned with the reconnaissance during penetration testing. Before doing any tests, one should get permission from the system’s owner. The test scope should include ensuring that there will be no access to other systems and networks in such areas as the testing facility, server rooms, workstations, and user workstations. Moreover, it is necessary to respect privacy and data protection laws so that the penetration test is ethically and legally acceptable.

Q9. What Role Does TCP/IP Knowledge Play in Reconnaissance?

Ans: Reconnaissance is hinged on a complete understanding of TCP/IP. It assists in identifying open ports and services, comprehending network topologies, and revealing vulnerabilities. Understanding TCP/IP helps attackers formulate customized packets for penetrating networks or systems, while defenders can also prepare themselves against such attacks by learning more about TCP/IP.

Q10. What Impact Does Social Engineering Have on The Phase of Reconnaissance?

Ans: Social engineering is critical during the reconnaissance phase when determining how an organization is structured, who has been assigned which role, and what its internal processes entail. However, many techniques, such as phishing or pretexting, are used to get sensitive information without triggering technical security measures. This human-centric approach targets the often less secure element in cybersecurity: people.

Q11. What is The Difference Between Passive and Active Reconnaissance?

Ans: During passive reconnaissance, no direct contact is made, thus minimizing the chances of being detected. Approaches include scrutinizing public data. However, active reconnaissance implies that one should directly communicate with the targeted system, for instance, through port scanning or specially constructed packets. Specially designed computer systems can detect these.

Q12. What is the Importance of Foot-Printing in Cyber Reconnaissance?

Ans: Gathering as much information on the target system that could be used to penetrate the system is known as footprinting. This is a necessary step in the preliminary phase of cyber attacks, which leads to the rest. Footprinting is also crucial here as it shows network ranges, domain details, and system architecture, all essential components of a viable attack methodology.

Q13. Which are Some Commonly Used Cyber Reconnaissance Tools?

Ans: Cyber reconnaissance tools include Nmap for network scanning, Wireshark for packet analysis, and the Harvester for collecting email addresses and domain information. Every tool helps learn about the target, and when used together, they provide an overall picture of the target’s security posture.

Q14. What is The Role Played by DNS Enumeration in Reconnaissance?

Ans: During DNS enumeration, the user extracts information about a domain, including subdomains, IP addresses, and DNS records. This information helps map the target's network structure, identify possible entry points, and understand the target’s online presence. This is essential in painting a complete picture of the enemy’s networking terrain.

Q15. What Does Port Scanning Imply in The Reconnaissance Stage?

Ans: Port scanning locates available ports and running services on a target machine. This information also assists in defining the attack surface by identifying which services are running, thus exposing them to the risk of being compromised. Port scanning is one of the essential methods in reconnaissance that points direct attackers to the right approach and instruments used during the other attack stages.

Conclusion

Preparing for a Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) interview isn’t easy, but you will leave an impression when you get ready with these questions! To get on the edge and be fearless in the interview, you should strengthen your roots through the JanBask CEH course.