In ethical hacking and penetration testing, assessing the security posture of a target system requires direct technical interaction with that system. The combination of techniques in option D—port scanning, banner grabbing, and service identification—provides actionable and detailed insight into the system’s vulnerabilities, services, and configurations.
According to CEH v13 Official Courseware:
Port scanning is the process of identifying open ports and the services running on them. It reveals:
Which ports are open or closed
The operating system's response behavior
Entry points for possible exploitation
Banner grabbing involves connecting to open services to retrieve application-level information. This can expose:
Software version numbers
Server type and configuration
Security misconfigurations
Service identification allows the security professional to determine what protocols and services (HTTP, FTP, SSH, etc.) are active and how they are configured. This supports:
Vulnerability analysis
Risk evaluation
Threat modeling
These combined techniques are fundamental steps in the reconnaissance and scanning phases of the ethical hacking lifecycle.
Incorrect Options:
A. Phishing, spamming, sending trojans are offensive tactics used in attacks; they provide limited direct system analysis and do not measure technical posture directly.
B. Social engineering, site browsing, and tailgating are physical or psychological attack vectors, not direct technical assessments.
C. Wardriving and warchalking identify wireless networks but offer limited detail about internal system configurations or vulnerabilities.
Reference – CEH v13 Official Study Material:
Module 03: Scanning Networks
Section: “Types of Scanning”
Subsections: “Port Scanning,” “Banner Grabbing,” and “Service Version Detection”
CEH Engage: Scanning and Enumeration labs
CEH Official Exam Blueprint: Knowledge Area — “Footprinting and Reconnaissance” and “Scanning Networks”
These techniques are emphasized as foundational components in any network vulnerability assessment.
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