Question One
Footprinting Definition And Steps Involved
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Footprinting and the steps involved in gathering information
Definition
Footprinting or digital reconnaissance is a topic related to ethical hacking that requires the collection of all available data relating to a computer system or a network to be able to gain access to the system or network. Unethical hackers adopt it will serve the malicious intent of illegal hacking of methods to gain access to unauthorized information. Also, footprinting is being ethically used by ethical hackers to identify security deficiencies in some of their systems or networks (Hendricks, 2020).
Using footprinting to gather information to determine the location of a stolen car
After the case involving the lost vehicle which was last seen in Morrison, College parking lot was presented to the campus security, I being an ethical hacker, was charged with the responsibility of carrying about a footprinting procedure to gather information about the car theft. footprinting collecting information process will involve a series of steps .in order to obtain adequate, factual and accurate information effectively, all the necessary options must be identified and thoroughly exhausted.
Documentation is an essential step which will involve paperwork and systematically profiling the target, which in this case is the lost car and then recording the results. This will be achieved through creating a matrix with fields to record identifying unique features, e.g. the model, other similar models, its specific tank limit, its mileage, number plates. Etc. This will help in easy identification of the vehicle since one will deal with a particular model. The next step will involve using the college’s website to look for any open-source information which could be helpful. The site may include information relating to parking details, the details of the owners etc. also, accessing the website of the company which manufactured or sold the car will help in the provision of information relating to GPS tracking or related information.
Also, accessing federal databases will help me to identify information relating to cases of any stolen car reported depicting the same features, In addition to using an alternative website, one can use Whois utility to query any domain name service. The domain services, e.g. address, location etc. will help in providing registry information. One will get an insight into who might be possessing the car by looking at some of these factors. Also, the traceroute utility will be used to determine the path that the car might have taken. This is the latest model car and therefore has an established computer system. Thereby one will obtain the route taken by the vehicle and be able to track its movements. Accessing police websites will help reveal data relating to the screened license plates numbers, which is done by covert cameras in major highways (GREG, 2020).
REFERENCES
GREG, M. (2020). The seven-step information gathering process | certified ethical hacker exam prep: Understanding Footprinting and scanning | Pearson IT certification. Pearson IT Certification: Videos, flashcards, simulations, books, eBooks, and practice tests for Cisco, CompTIA, and Microsoft exams. https://www.pearsonitcertification.com/articles/article.aspx?p=472323&seqNum=5
Hendricks, B. (2020). What is Footprinting? – Definition, uses & process. Study.com. https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-footprinting-definition-uses-process.html