What is the primary objective of a port scan during a penetration test?

• A. To exfiltrate data from the target
• B. To identify open ports and running services on the target
• C. To decrypt encrypted traffic
• D. To map domain names to IP addresses

Answer: (B)

Port scanning focuses on mapping what a target reveals on the network by probing which ports will accept connections. The primary objective during a penetration test is to identify open ports and the services listening on them. Knowing where services are exposed and what they are running lets you assess the attack surface, prioritize further testing, and plan next steps like vulnerability assessment or targeted exploitation.

Exfiltrating data is about taking information out of the system, which isn’t what a scan does. Decrypting encrypted traffic deals with breaking cryptography, not discovering accessible endpoints. Mapping domain names to IP addresses is DNS reconnaissance, useful for footprinting but not the main goal of locating open ports and services.