Introduction

Honeypots are decoy systems designed to attract cyber attackers. They play a crucial role in cybersecurity and digital forensics by helping investigators observe, analyze, and understand hacker behavior without risking real assets.

🖥️ What Is a Honeypot?

A honeypot is a vulnerable system or service intentionally exposed to attackers. Its purpose is to:

• Detect unauthorized access attempts

• Gather data about attack techniques

• Serve as an early warning system

Types of honeypots:

1. Low-Interaction Honeypots: Simulate limited services to detect attacks without full system exposure.

2. High-Interaction Honeypots: Fully functional systems that provide deep insights but require more monitoring.

🕵️‍♂️ How Honeypots Help Investigators

1. Attack Pattern Analysis:

   • Logs captured from honeypots reveal tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by attackers.

2. Malware Collection:

   • Honeypots attract malware infections, allowing investigators to analyze malicious software safely.

3. Identifying Threat Actors:

   • Attackers’ IPs, methods, and behavior can help profile cybercriminals.

4. Early Threat Detection:

   • Honeypots act as a canary system, alerting organizations before real systems are compromised.

🔗 Tools for Honeypot Deployment

• Honeyd: Lightweight honeypot for network simulation.

• Kippo: SSH honeypot for logging attacker activity.

• Cowrie: Advanced SSH and Telnet honeypot.

• Glastopf: Web application honeypot for tracking attacks targeting websites.

✅ Best Practices

1. Isolate honeypots from production systems to prevent lateral movement.

2. Monitor continuously and collect detailed logs.

3. Analyze data with forensic tools for actionable intelligence.

4. Use honeypots in combination with threat intelligence platforms.