CAS-004 Security Operations Practice Question
A penetration tester is conducting a black-box test on a web application. The tester wants to gather information about the target without directly interacting with the target systems. Which three techniques are considered passive reconnaissance? (Select THREE).
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
✓
Searching public social media profiles
Passive reconnaissance involves collecting information from public sources without engaging the target.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Searching public social media profiles
Why this is correct
Social media is public information gathering.
- ✗
Port scanning with Nmap
Why it's wrong here
Port scanning is active reconnaissance.
- ✓
WHOIS lookups
Why this is correct
WHOIS queries public databases, no direct interaction with target.
- ✗
DNS zone transfers
Why it's wrong here
DNS zone transfers are active reconnaissance as they query DNS servers directly.
- ✓
Searching for DNS records in public archives
Why this is correct
Public DNS archives provide passive information.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This CAS-005 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA 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 CAS-005 exam.