Comparing scanning and enumeration
Before we get too far down the road on the techniques used for scanning and enumeration, we need to discuss the differences between the two. Many security professionals will use scan or scanning as catch-all terms for all scanning and enumeration. While they may be loosely used interchangeably, they are not actually the same thing. Let’s define these terms to make this clearer:
- Scanning is the act of interrogating something to solicit information from it. For example, you scan a port to see what service is running, and you scan a machine to see whether it responds.
- Enumeration is the iteration of lists, either calculated or gathered. This could be a list of ports, machines, and so on.
It is important to note that scanning and enumeration are not limited to just the network perimeter. This phase can and is often revisited repeatedly as new information becomes available. An example is after an attacker has scanned and successfully...
