Reconnaissance

« Back to Glossary Index

Reconnaissance is the phase of an attack where an attackers finds new systems, maps out networks, and probes for specific, exploitable vulnerabilities.

Reconnaissance (Wikipedia)
Night vision photograph of Company B, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division during a night reconnaissance training mission, 2016
Reconnaissance is a mission to obtain information by visual observation or other detection methods, about the activities and resources of an enemy or potential enemy, or about the meteorologic, hydrographic, or geographic characteristics of a particular area.

Reconnaissance (US Army FM 7-92; Chap. 4)

In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration outside an area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about natural features and other activities in the area.

Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmishers, long-range reconnaissance patrol, U.S. Army Rangers, cavalry scouts, or military intelligence specialists), ships or submarines, manned or unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, satellites, or by setting up observation posts. Espionage normally is not reconnaissance, because reconnaissance is a military's special forces operating ahead of its main forces; spies are non-combatants operating behind enemy lines.

Often called recce (British, Canadian and Australian English) or recon (American English), the associated verb is reconnoitre or reconnoiter.

This Video Sponsored by Dale