Active Scanning (RF/Optical) - REC-0005.04

Active scanning moves beyond passive collection: an adversary transmits or injects probes intended to elicit identifiable responses that reveal frequencies, protocols, or device behavior. Examples include stimulating auto-track or auto-reply beacons, provoking ranging responses, tickling access schemes (TDMA/FDMA bursts), or sending benign-looking frames to observe AGC, saturation, or error counters. Optical/lasercom analogs include alignment pings or modulation patterns that solicit acquisition messages. The objective is RF “banner grabbing”, learning enough to build compatible demod/decoder chains or to map control surfaces, without necessarily breaching authentication. Because scans can resemble normal acquisition attempts, they may blend into the noise floor of operations.