This is the primary phase where the Hacker tries to collect as much information as possible about the target .
It includes identifying the target finding out. The target ip address range , network , which operating system used , Dns recore , ETC..
This is the first step of Hacking. It is also called as Footprinting and information gathering Phase. This is the preparatory phase where we collect as much information as possible about the target. We usually collect information about three groups,
Network
Host
People involved
There are two types of Footprinting:
Active : Directly interacting with the target to gather information about the target. Eg Using Nmap tool to scan the target
Passive : Trying to collect the information about the target without directly accessing the target. This involves collecting information from social media, public websites etc.