Pre-Exploitation

Pre-exploitation is a phase in cybersecurity, particularly in penetration testing and ethical hacking, that involves gathering information and preparing for potential attacks before actual exploitation occurs. It focuses on reconnaissance, vulnerability identification, and planning to understand a target system's weaknesses and environment. This phase is critical for effective and targeted exploitation in security assessments.

Also known as: Pre-Exploit, Pre-Exploitation Phase, Reconnaissance Phase, Information Gathering, Pre-Attack

Why learn Pre-Exploitation?

Developers should learn pre-exploitation to enhance security awareness, design more resilient systems, and contribute to secure software development lifecycles. It is essential for roles in penetration testing, security auditing, and threat modeling, where understanding attack vectors beforehand helps in proactive defense and compliance with security standards like OWASP.

Learning Resources

• docs: OWASP Testing Guide - Information Gathering
• docs: Penetration Testing Execution Standard (PTES) - Pre-Engagement
• course: Cybrary - Pre-Exploitation Course
• tutorial: Hack The Box Academy - Information Gathering Module
• video: YouTube - Pre-Exploitation Techniques by The Cyber Mentor