Domain & Infrastructure Mapping

Map digital infrastructure to uncover relationships between domains, IPs, and organizations.

15 min read
Intermediate
Overview

Infrastructure mapping reveals the hidden connections between domains, IP addresses, hosting providers, and organizations. This technique is crucial for investigating phishing campaigns, tracking threat actors, and understanding corporate structures.

You'll learn to perform DNS analysis, track domain registration patterns, map hosting infrastructure, identify related domains through shared resources, and visualize complex infrastructure relationships.

These skills help security researchers identify attack infrastructure, journalists uncover corporate connections, and investigators track malicious operations.

Tools You'll Need

DNSdumpster

DNS Analysis

Discover DNS records and map domain infrastructure

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SecurityTrails

Domain Research

Historical DNS data and domain relationships

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Shodan

Network Analysis

Search for devices and services on the internet

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Censys

Network Analysis

Internet-wide scanning and certificate transparency

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ViewDNS.info

DNS Analysis

Reverse IP lookup and DNS tools

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Step-by-Step Guide
  1. 1

    Start with a domain and perform WHOIS lookup for registration details

  2. 2

    Query DNS records (A, AAAA, MX, NS, TXT) for infrastructure information

  3. 3

    Perform reverse IP lookup to find other domains on the same server

  4. 4

    Check SSL/TLS certificates for subject alternative names (SANs)

  5. 5

    Search certificate transparency logs for related domains

  6. 6

    Map nameserver relationships to identify domain portfolios

  7. 7

    Analyze hosting patterns and ASN information

  8. 8

    Track historical changes using DNS history tools

  9. 9

    Visualize relationships using network graph tools

Tips & Best Practices
  • Shared hosting can create false positives - verify with other indicators

  • Look for patterns in domain registration dates and registrars

  • Privacy-protected WHOIS can sometimes be pierced with historical data

  • Certificate SANs often reveal related domains managed by same entity

  • Nameserver clustering is a strong indicator of related domains

  • Track email addresses in WHOIS for domain portfolio discovery

  • Use passive DNS to see historical IP associations

  • Free hosting and CDNs like Cloudflare can mask real infrastructure

Community Tips & Insights

Share your own tips or learn from the community's experience

Share Your Tip

OSINTExpert9/25/2025

I've found that combining multiple reverse image search engines in parallel significantly improves results. Don't rely on just one!

CyberSleuth9/28/2025

Always document your methodology step-by-step. This helps with reproducibility and explaining your findings to others.