Module 4. Enumeration

Enumeration is the process of extracting usernames, machine names, network resources, shares, and services from a system or network.

In the first step of the security assessment and penetration testing of your organization, you gather open-source information about your organization. In the second step, you collect information about open ports and services, OSes, and any configuration lapses.

The next step for an ethical hacker or penetration tester is to probe the target network further by performing enumeration. Using various techniques, you should extract more details about the network such as lists of computers, usernames, user groups, ports, OSes, machine names, network resources, and services.

The information gleaned from enumeration will help you to identify the vulnerabilities in your system’s security that attackers would seek to exploit. Such information could also enable attackers to perform password attacks to gain unauthorized access to information system resources.

In the previous steps, you gathered necessary information about a target without contravening any legal boundaries. However, please note that enumeration activities may be illegal depending on an organization’s policies and any laws that are in effect in your location. As an ethical hacker or penetration tester, you should always acquire proper authorization before performing enumeration.

Objective

The objective of the lab is to extract information about the target organization that includes, but is not limited to:

• Machine names, their OSes, services, and ports

• Network resources

• Usernames and user groups

• Lists of shares on individual hosts on the network

• Policies and passwords

• Routing tables

• Audit and service settings

• SNMP and FQDN details