scrape target
also: target, scraping target
A target system or resource that is scanned, analyzed, or extracted data from without authorization, often for reconnaissance in security testing or malicious hacking.
A scrape target refers to any system, website, or service that becomes the subject of automated data extraction or reconnaissance. In security contexts, this typically means a machine or application that attackers or penetration testers probe to gather information.
For example, an attacker might scrape a target web server to identify running services, extract form data, or discover API endpoints. A scrape target could be a public website, internal company server, or cloud service—essentially any resource being harvested for information.
The term is common in penetration testing and security research, where ethical professionals might designate authorized systems as scrape targets for vulnerability assessment. In malicious contexts, scraping occurs without permission to steal data, bypass rate limits, or extract competitive information.