Problem Statement
Which of these is the correct sequence of the five standard phases in ethical hacking?
Explanation
According to multiple sources, ethical hacking (and penetration testing) is often described in five key steps: Reconnaissance (information gathering), Scanning (port & vulnerability detection), Gaining Access (exploiting vulnerabilities), Maintaining Access (establishing persistence), and Covering Tracks (removing evidence). :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1} Interviewers often ask you to walk through these phases, because it shows you understand the attack lifecycle from the hacker’s view and thus how to defend against it.
