reconnaissance
the act of finding out about an enemy or place before a military action
the collection of information about an enemy, area, route, or position, especially before or during a military operation
a first look or check to help you plan what to do next
an initial inspection or investigation of a place or situation, done to collect information before deciding what to do
the step in which hackers or security testers collect information about a computer target before attacking or testing it
the phase of a cyberattack or security test in which information is gathered about a target system, network, or organization before trying to exploit it
- Base: reconnaissance
- Plural: reconnaissance, reconnaissances
active reconnaissance
1direct cyber probing
collecting cyber information by directly contacting or testing the target system
- Port scans are a typical form of active reconnaissance.
- The red team performed active reconnaissance and quickly triggered an alert.
- Active reconnaissance touches the target system.
aerial reconnaissance
1scouting from the air
using aircraft or drones to look at an area and collect information
- The army used drones for aerial reconnaissance after the road was destroyed.
- Bad weather prevented aerial reconnaissance over the mountains.
- A drone did aerial reconnaissance over the valley.
do some reconnaissance
1check things out first
to check a place or situation first so you can plan better
- Can you do some reconnaissance on the hotels before we book?
- I walked around the venue to do some reconnaissance before the guests arrived.
- Let's do some reconnaissance before choosing a restaurant.
passive reconnaissance
1indirect cyber information gathering
collecting cyber information without directly contacting the target system
- Passive reconnaissance can include reading public websites and leaked records.
- The analyst began with passive reconnaissance so the target would not see any traffic from her tools.
- Passive reconnaissance uses public information.
reconnaissance flight
1information-gathering flight
a flight to look at an area and collect information
- A reconnaissance flight spotted smoke near the border.
- The crew took off at dawn for a reconnaissance flight over the coast.
- The plane made a reconnaissance flight.
reconnaissance mission
1information-gathering operation
a mission to find out useful information before doing something else
- The team returned from the reconnaissance mission with photos of the river crossing.
- We made a weekend reconnaissance mission to the city before deciding to move there.
- The soldiers went on a reconnaissance mission.
reconnaissance patrol
1scouting patrol group
a group of soldiers sent to look for information and report back
- A reconnaissance patrol reported fresh tracks near the camp.
- The commander sent a reconnaissance patrol to check the road ahead.
- The reconnaissance patrol looked for danger.
reconnaissance satellite
1spy information satellite
a satellite that takes pictures or collects information from space for a government or military
- A reconnaissance satellite captured images of the launch site.
- Governments use reconnaissance satellites to monitor military activity.
- A reconnaissance satellite takes pictures from space.