What is Enumeration in Ethical Hacking?

What Is Enumeration in Ethical Hacking?

In this blog, we will discuss the notions of Enumeration from an ethical hacking opinion. We’ll go through the principles of pen testing, including how enumeration fits in. We shall look at other ideas including types of enumeration, techniques, and tools that help for processing. We’ll go through the aims and functions, the Network Basic Input/Output System, and Monitoring enumeration processes.

What is pen testing, and how does it work?

Penetration testing helps to deduct the vulnerabilities in the system. Penetration testing gives us a lot of information about the vulnerabilities that we can classify as high, medium, or low. We address these flaws following business needs and schedules.

Let’s go through the different steps of penetration testing:

Reconnaissance: In this process, we shall gather the system’s data. This process would be of two types: Active and passive. Active refers to the illegal hacker who breaches the system maliciously. Passive refers to the hackers who have not actively engaged in breaching the system.

Scanning: Using tools we can scan the data of the system

Gaining Access: This process helps to access the vulnerabilities in the system in the second stage of its process.

Maintaining Accesses: this process can be done by installing the rootkit (computer software) and B&B

Covering Tracks: Removing all traces after breaching the system

Description of Enumeration

It is phase three testing. It’s a method of acquiring access to the system by exploiting the flaws discovered in the prior two phases. Scanning helps to detect vulnerabilities to a limited extent, whereas Enumeration allows us to learn all the data, including accounts, organizations, and even system-level details such as routing protocol. The purpose of this ethical hacking process is to have a thorough grasp of the tests that will be performed in the targeted system. To acquire complete control, tools are implemented over the system.

Importance of Enumeration

Enumeration is the most important process in Ethical hacking. It is the next level of testing to get the entire details of the Application, domain names,  user-space utility program, Simple Network Management Protocol, and Domain Name Server.

The importance of enumeration is that it methodically collects information. This enables pen testers to thoroughly inspect the systems. During the ethical hacking enumeration step, pen testers acquire information about the weak links.

Enumeration Classification

• Network Basic Input/Output System
• Simple Network Management Protocol
• Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
• Network Time Protocol
• Simple Mail Transfer Protocol.
• Domain Name Server
• Window tools(Enumeration)
• Unix and Linux

Enumeration and its types

Enumeration collects user identities, system names, networking devices, files, and applications from the ecosystem. There is a powerful toolset that aids in the scalability of the enumeration process. This is a cloud-based platform.

Techniques for Enumeration

• Collect the user identities
• Collects the data using the password
• Loggin uses various passwords using brute force attack
• Collect user name using Simple Network Management Protocol
• Collect user group from window operating system
• Gather data from Domain Name Server

Services and Port to Enumerate

• Transmission Control Protocol 53: Domain Name Server Zone transfer.
• Transmission Control Protocol 135: Microsoft Remote Procedure Call Endpoint Mapper.
• Transmission Control Protocol 137: Network Basic Input/Output System Name Service.
• Transmission Control Protocol 139: Network Basic Input/Output System session Service
• Transmission Control Protocol 445: Direct host Server Message Block over TCP 
• User Datagram Protocol 161: Simple Network Management Protocol
• Transmission Control Protocol/User Datagram Protocol 389: Lightweight Directory Access Protocol.
• Transmission Control Protocol/User Datagram Protocol 3368: Global Catalog Service.

What are the Enumeration’s objectives?

Goal 1: Create a map of the final details we’ll need to double-check following the enumeration.

Goal 2: How to carry out the attacks in the next phases.

Goal 3: Identify all of the data we’ll need to carry out further testing.

Goal 4: Make a list of devices that have been installed for testing.

Goal 5: Establish the visual map to complete the testing stages.

Goal 6: Prepare a number of individuals who aid the testing.

Goal 7: Gather even little information that could be useful in the future.

Tools helping Enumeration

Nmap, Nessus, Nikto, WPScan, Dirbuster, Searchsploit, Dnsenum, GoBuster, Dig and Nmblookup

Process of Enumeration

The process of obtaining user identities, system names, networking devices, files, and applications from a system is known as enumeration. In the System gathering process, the acquired data is used to identify weaknesses or shortcomings in system security, which are then attempted to attack.

Port – Scanning Enumeration

Enumeration also refers to port scanning. It is used to detect flaws in various systems. It checks whether all systems are linked to the local area network or network which operates the services. We can understand the services that are available, who owns them, and whether any of them require additional verification.

Port scanning techniques

• Packet Internet or Inter-Network Groper scan. These Scans are used to check an entire cable block or a specific target to see if it is still active.
• Transmission Control Protocol Half-Open
• Transmission Control Protocol connect scan
• User Datagram Protocol port scan
• STEALTH SCANNING – NULL, FIN, X-MAS.

Network Basic Input/Output System Enumeration

• NetBIOS facilitates computer-to-computer communication via a local area network to share devices such as printers.
• They’re most frequently used to determine wireless networks.
• NetBIOS is used by attackers to scan the list of devices per domain, rules, usernames, and other network connections.
• nbtstat, superscan, Net View, and Hyena were used as tools.

By this you would have understood the What Is Enumeration in Ethical Hacking, Tools helping Enumeration, and Process of Enumeration. So, we’ve discussed enumeration approaches and how enumeration can be done with a variety of techniques, including port scanning, and Network Basic Input/Output System depending on usage.