What you'll learn

Before a vulnerability can be exploited, it first has to be found. In this course, Information Gathering with Kali Linux, you'll gain the ability to identify and map an organization's exposed infrastructure using industry-standard reconnaissance and discovery tools. First, you'll explore passive reconnaissance techniques, gathering WHOIS and DNS records, extracting metadata from public documents, and harvesting employee emails with OSINT tools. Next, you'll discover how Nmap can be used to perform active network discovery, sweeping live hosts, scanning TCP and UDP ports, and fingerprinting operating systems and services. Finally, you'll learn how to map a target's attack surface by enumerating subdomains, correlating discovered services with known CVEs, and storing your findings in a structured Metasploit database. When you're finished with this course, you'll have the skills and knowledge of reconnaissance and attack surface mapping needed to identify an organization's exposed assets and prioritize them for further testing in an authorized lab environment.