War dialing involves what activity?

• A. Scanning for web applications
• B. Looking for modems in a target environment and password guessing
• C. Enumerating active directory accounts
• D. Passive network sniffing

Answer: (B)

War dialing is the practice of automatically dialing a large list of telephone numbers to find modems or dial-in lines connected to a target network and then attempting to log in, often with password guessing or default credentials. This approach aims to discover remote access points that rely on dial-up connections, especially from the era when many networks used modems for remote entry. Because it targets modems and tests passwords on those reachable lines, it best fits this description.

This isn’t about scanning web applications, which would focus on web servers and code vulnerabilities; it isn’t about enumerating Active Directory accounts directly, which is about listing user and machine identities on a network after gaining access; and it isn’t about passive sniffing, which involves listening to traffic rather than actively locating dial-up entry points.