Table of contents
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Table of contents
- What is a honeypot in cybersecurity?
- What is a honeynet?
- What does a honeypot do?
- What is ‘honeypotting’?
- Benefits of honeypots
- Risks of honeypots
- How to design a honeypot
- Main Types of Honeypots
- Purpose-Based Categorization: Production Honeypots vs. Research Honeypots
- Activity-Based Categorization: Email/Spam Traps, Malware Honeypots, and Spider Honeypots
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When we think of cybersecurity measures, we think of keeping hackers out, but how can you actively do that? That’s where Honeypots come in.
Honeypotting is about employing the inverse tactic to lure hackers and attackers into a pre-made trap in order to gain crucial information about their activities. You may want to consider Honeypots as part of your cybersecurity setup, helping you to mitigate against worst-case scenarios.
In this article, we introduce you to Honeypotting and why it’s such an effective way to protect your networks.
What is a honeypot in cybersecurity?
A Honeypot is a realistic decoy system that is built to attract the attention of hackers and tempt them into mounting an attack. Honeypots are surveillance, risk mitigation, and advance warning tools.
Honeypots are used by companies to gain information and insights into their cybersecurity vulnerabilities and what kinds of threats they face (but more on this later).
What is a honeynet?
What does a honeypot do?
Fundamentally, a Honeypot is a fake system that first convinces a hacker that it is legitimate, and secondly persuades them to launch an attack against it. By doing so, it allows IT Pros or MSPS to better understand the motivations, behavior, and tactics used by attackers. This helps to reinforce cybersecurity strategies and protocols to better prepare for genuine attacks.
What is ‘honeypotting’?
‘Honeypotting’ refers to the deployment of Honeypots within a cybersecurity strategy.
Benefits of honeypots
It may seem slightly counterintuitive to intentionally invite a cyber-attacker into your system. However, although there are associated risks, the advantages of using Honeypots may make it absolutely worth it:
Detect imminent threats
First and foremost, Honeypots are an effective warning system for incoming attacks or hacks. Because they’re specifically designed to pique an attacker’s attention, Honeypots are likely to be their first port of call. This gives MSPs time to detect and protect against their potential attack on their real network.
Plus, with the information obtained through the Honeypot attack, MSPs will be able to determine the type and level of threat they’re facing.
Distract attackers from the real target
Honeypots, by nature, are designed to be attractive targets. If they work properly, Honeypots should distract potential attackers from the real, more valuable targets.
Gain information
Honeypots are also an important source of information. Using Honeypots, MSPs can learn about who their attackers are, what their motivations are, and where they’re coming from.
Crucially, because they exist separate from real networks, the only traffic they receive is illegitimate and malicious. This means MSPs can focus on analyzing and understanding the Honeypot’s traffic without getting distracted by other genuine users.
In addition, Honeypots are an effective way of flagging potential vulnerabilities in existing cybersecurity infrastructure and pointing to areas that need some reinforcement.
Easy and low-maintenance
From an MSPs perspective, Honeypots are easy, effective, and low-maintenance. Once they’re live and active, Honeypots work pretty autonomously, only requiring monitoring when and if they are hacked.
Don’t let the simplicity fool you; the information you can gather through Honeypotting is highly valuable and can help to optimize your cybersecurity strategy.
Plus, Honeypots are not a one-time-only solution. Although they may require some tweaks, Honeypots work continuously to gather information.
Risks of honeypots
As with anything, there are certain risks associated with Honeypotting. Although, on balance, most MSPs would argue that the benefits reaped far outweigh the potential risks.
Not 100% effective
No cybersecurity measure is 100% effective, and Honeypots are no different. Just because your Honeypot hasn’t picked up a potential threat, doesn’t mean that you’re in the clear.
Sometimes, savvy attackers may realize you’ve set up a trap for them and will circumvent your Honeypot in favor of your real systems. It pays to be prepared for the worst-case scenario with a diverse range of strategies.
Can be used against you
Honeypots can be redeployed to an attacker’s advantage. If they become aware that they’ve been duped, a hacker could use the Honeypot to distract you and your IT team, or even use the honeypot as a means of gaining access to your system.
How to design a honeypot
To lay an effective trap, a Honeypot must look like a realistic and legitimate target. For this reason, Honeypots look like real computer systems, complete with real applications, data, processes, and files. However, the key difference is that Honeypots are purposely designed with security vulnerabilities. This makes them more attractive because they’re more easily compromised, and therefore more appealing to potential attackers.
It’s also good practice to put your honeypots behind the firewall that shields your real network. This means that if a hacker does manage to breach it, you’ll be able to see how and make necessary changes to prevent the same thing from happening again.
Main Types of Honeypots
Honeypots can be categorized in various ways: by their purpose, by their attributes, or by the types of activities they are designed to attract.
Attribute-Based Categorization: High-Interaction vs. Low-Interaction Honeypots
- High-Interaction Honeypots
High-interaction honeypots are designed to engage attackers for extended periods. They are resource-intensive, as they simulate complex systems with multiple points of interest to keep hackers engaged. This depth allows for detailed analysis of attack methods and behaviors. While they require more maintenance and monitoring, the detailed insights gained make them highly valuable for understanding sophisticated attack strategies.
- Low-Interaction Honeypots
In contrast, low-interaction honeypots are simpler and less resource-intensive. They provide basic, high-level information about threats without delving into the complexities of the attack. These honeypots are easier to deploy and maintain but offer less detailed data compared to high-interaction types. They are suitable for capturing preliminary information and identifying general attack patterns.
Purpose-Based Categorization: Production Honeypots vs. Research Honeypots
Production Honeypots
Production honeypots are typically low-interaction systems designed to be straightforward and basic. Their primary function is to gather fundamental information and assist in mitigating cybersecurity risks. These honeypots are integrated into real network environments to detect and manage common threats while providing minimal interference.
Research Honeypots
Research honeypots, on the other hand, are high-interaction systems crafted for in-depth analysis. They are designed to capture detailed information about sophisticated attacks, including the specific techniques and strategies employed by attackers. These honeypots allow for extensive scrutiny and are valuable for understanding advanced threats and developing more effective countermeasures.
Activity-Based Categorization: Email/Spam Traps, Malware Honeypots, and Spider Honeypots
Activity-Based Categorization reveals how different types of honeypots are tailored to specific threats and activities:
Email or Spam Traps
Email or spam traps are designed to attract and catch spammers and automated address harvesters. These honeypots operate as decoy email addresses with no legitimate traffic. Any email sent to these traps is considered spam, allowing Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to identify and block the source IPs and handle unwanted messages effectively.
Malware Honeypots
Malware honeypots simulate software applications to entice and detect malware attacks. By mimicking vulnerable systems, these honeypots attract malicious software, helping security teams analyze its behavior and develop strategies to counteract similar threats in real environments.
Spider Honeypots
Spider honeypots focus on detecting and analyzing web crawlers, bots, and automated systems that scan the web. By engaging with these automated agents, security teams can gain insights into how to defend against unwanted web traffic and improve their strategies for blocking bots and crawlers.
Atera: strengthening Network Security with comprehensive cybersecurity tools
In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, safeguarding your network from threats requires a proactive and multifaceted approach. Atera’s all-in-one IT management platform is designed to provide you with the tools necessary to fortify your network security. Atera’s powerful patch management feature ensures that your systems are always up to date, automatically applying critical security patches and updates across your entire network. This reduces vulnerabilities that cyber attackers could exploit, making your IT environment more resilient to threats. In addition to patch management, Atera offers real-time monitoring, automated alerts, and comprehensive reporting, giving you the insights and controls needed to protect your organization from cyberattacks. Try Atera for free for 30 days and experience how our platform can enhance your cybersecurity strategy and keep your network secure.
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