What are hardware honeypots and how do they help detect cyber threats?
Cyber threats are growing stronger, and the methods of detecting and neutralizing them are evolving every day. One of the most interesting tools used in this fight is the honeypot . What is it and how does it work? Check what types of honeypots there are and what benefits and potential risks are associated with its use.
Honeypot - meaning
Imagine a jar of honey left on the table on a summer afternoon. The golden liquid attracts everything that feels a weakness for it. Although the honey looks really innocent, it is not there to satisfy the appetite – it is a clever trap that allows you to observe who is trying to reach for the sweet reward. In the world of cybersecurity, the role of this “jar of honey” is played by honeypots – specially designed traps for cybercriminals. They usually contain fake data and files with names designed to be attractive to attackers. A honeypot is a trap created to attract cybercriminals. It is a simulation of a resource, such as a server, application or database (see later in the article, what is a database honeypot ), which is supposed to look like a real and attractive target for attackers. How does a honeypot work in cybersecurity? In reality, a honeypot is used to monitor the activities of cybercriminals, collect information about their methods and prevent potential attacks.
What was the first honeypot product?
The first commercial honeypot was the Deception Toolkit , introduced in the 1990s. Its purpose was to detect and analyze intrusion attempts. Since then, however, honeypot technology has evolved significantly, encompassing both software and hardware solutions.
Research honeypot
It is worth mentioning here what a research honeypot is . It is a honeypot used mainly for scientific or analytical purposes, instead of operational ones. It is used to collect detailed data on the behavior of attackers, their motivations and the techniques used. It must be admitted that this tool is already very extensive today and helps cybersecurity specialists expand their knowledge about new threats every day. An example of a research honeypot is the Honeyd system , which allows the creation of various honeypot projects and complex simulations of many devices in one network. Data collected by research honeypots can be shared with other institutions or companies in order to raise the global level of cybersecurity.
Database Honeypot
A database honeypot, on the other hand, is a special type of honeypot that simulates a database in order to attract cybercriminals and monitor their activities. Its purpose is to mimic a legitimate database, which encourages attackers to attempt to steal data, inject malicious code, or explore vulnerabilities. Examples of database honeypot systems include tools such as Dionaea or MongoDB Honeypot.
Hardware Honeypots
Hardware honeypots are physical devices configured to act as traps. Note that, for example, the Raspberry Pi single-board computer is an ideal platform for hosting a honeypot. For example, the SAPSAN Pwnagotchi (which already has a built-in Raspberry Pi) could be successfully converted into a honeypot for detecting threats in Wi-Fi networks. Also check out other cybersecurity equipment .
How does a honeypot work?
The operation of a honeypot is based primarily on the simulation of the environment ( the honeypot imitates real systems, but is isolated from the rest of the infrastructure), as well as on activity monitoring , because every attempt to interact with the honeypot is recorded. The operation of a honeypot also includes threat analysis , because all the collected data helps to identify attack patterns. They also help to detect new techniques used by hackers. Honeypots are used both in a professional environment and for educational purposes. They are used by, among others, cybersecurity specialists, and in some cases also pentesters . Depending on the user, they can act as a trap for cybercriminals, a research tool, or a way to analyze and strengthen security.
Also check out the popular SAPSAN blog article: What is cybersecurity?