What is Cyber Reconnaissance?
Cyber Reconnaissance refers to the practice of covertly gathering data online. This intelligence gathering can be done with both pure and unpure intentions. Bad actors use various methods to gather information about potential attack victims and find exploitable weaknesses. The information gathered can be used to imitate or bribe an individual to gain access to a wider network, or simply to help the attacker understand points of weakness in a network setup. Additionally, it aids in developing phishing email campaigns. On the positive side, threat intelligence experts conduct cyber reconnaissance around the clock to track and prevent cyber threats.
How to Recognize This Threat: The threat is all around, with data about individuals often readily available throughout the online world. How pervasive is it? According to Verizon, cyber reconnaissance, is a part of over 90 percent of successful breaches. Bad actors gather information on targets via social media, online searches, comment and message boards, and more.
How to Prevent This Threat: Users should secure their social media accounts with strong privacy settings and take care when posting any information online. Businesses too should practice strong hygiene online to minimize the cyber footprint of employees and the company. Separating business from personal activity and making it difficult for attackers to tie an individual to a specific organization is helpful as well.