// THREAT DETECTION AND DATA PRIVACY TERM

Reconnaissance

Reconnaissance is the military practice of exploring an area to gather information about enemy forces, terrain, or other strategic features. The primary goal is to observe and report back without engaging in combat.

TECHNICAL DEFINITION

Reconnaissance is a military and intelligence operation focused on collecting timely information about an adversary's capabilities, composition, disposition, and intentions through visual observation or other detection methods like SIGINT and IMINT. This intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) data is crucial for mission planning, threat assessment, and target acquisition.

BACKGROUND

The Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge (ATT&CK) is a guideline for classifying and describing cyberattacks and intrusions. It was created by the Mitre Corporation and released in 2013.

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SYNONYMS & ALIASES

  • Recon
  • Scouting
  • Surveillance
  • Intelligence gathering
  • ISR
  • Probing
  • Observation

USAGE NOTE

In military planning, reconnaissance is often a specific, targeted mission, whereas surveillance implies a more continuous, long-term watch over an area.

DEVELOPERS

Organizations developing technology related to Reconnaissance.

  • Recorded Future

    A threat intelligence company that provides context on adversaries by collecting and analyzing vast amounts of data from the open web, dark web, and technical sources.

  • Palo Alto Networks

    Develops cybersecurity solutions, including the Cortex Xpanse platform, which performs continuous reconnaissance to discover and map an organization's global internet attack surface.

  • Shodan

    Operates a search engine for Internet-connected devices. It is a fundamental tool for security professionals and attackers to perform network reconnaissance and discover exposed assets.

  • Palantir Technologies

    Builds software platforms for data integration and analysis used by government and defense organizations for large-scale intelligence gathering, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

  • Anduril Industries

    A defense technology company that develops autonomous systems, including drones and sensor towers powered by AI, for real-time surveillance, threat detection, and reconnaissance missions.

  • CrowdStrike

    Provides cybersecurity services and products, including its Falcon Surface module for External Attack Surface Management (EASM), which automates reconnaissance of an organization's external-facing assets.

  • Maltego Technologies

    Develops a software platform for open-source intelligence (OSINT) and graphical link analysis, used by investigators to conduct reconnaissance by gathering and connecting information from disparate public sources.

  • Mandiant

    Now part of Google Cloud, Mandiant provides advanced threat intelligence derived from incident response engagements, giving insight into adversary reconnaissance techniques, tools, and infrastructure.

  • BAE Systems

    A multinational defense and aerospace company that develops a wide range of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) technologies, including signals intelligence (SIGINT) and geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) platforms.

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