200-201 Security Concepts Practice Question
During a penetration test, a security engineer uses publicly available information from LinkedIn and Google to gather details about employees and organizational structure. Which type of reconnaissance is being performed?
⚠ Common exam trap
Cisco often tests the distinction between active and passive reconnaissance by describing an activity that uses public sources but might seem 'active' to a novice; the trap here is confusing passive information gathering with active scanning or social engineering.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Passive reconnaissance
The security engineer is gathering information from publicly available sources (LinkedIn, Google) without directly interacting with the target's systems. This is the definition of passive reconnaissance, which involves collecting data from open-source intelligence (OSINT) without sending any packets to the target network.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Active reconnaissance
Why it's wrong here
Active reconnaissance involves direct interaction, such as port scanning.
- ✗
Social engineering
Why it's wrong here
Social engineering manipulates people; this scenario only uses public data.
- ✓
Passive reconnaissance
Why this is correct
Using public sources like LinkedIn and Google without touching the target's systems is passive.
- ✗
Internal reconnaissance
Why it's wrong here
Internal reconnaissance occurs after gaining access to the internal network.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 200-201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 200-201 exam.