The second phase of hacking is scanning. Scanning involves using a direct approach in engaging the target to obtain information that is not accessible via the reconnaissance phase. This phase involves profiling the target organization, its systems, and network infrastructure.

The following are techniques used in the scanning phase:

• Checking for any live systems
• Checking for firewalls and their rules
• Checking for open network ports
• Checking for running services
• Checking for security vulnerabilities
• Creating a network topology of the target network

This phase is very important as it helps us to create a profile of the target. The information found in this phase will help us to move onto performing exploitation on the target system or network.