Honeypots and Honeynets are cybersecurity measures used to help organizations detect, identify, and understand cyber attack methods. Although they share the same goal, each has unique characteristics that contribute to cyber security. In this article, we will learn about the workings of honeypots and honeynets with their working advantages and disadvantages, and how they are different from each other.
What is a Honeypot?
A Honeypot is a computer program designed to trick attackers into believing they have access to a legitimate target. These carefully designed tools play an important role in cybersecurity research, allowing experts to better understand cyberattacks and strategies used by malicious attackers. By luring and trapping attackers, honeypots allow organizations to identify, measure, and block attempts to compromise their real systems.
The term honeypot refers to a rogue device used to attract unknown traffic on a network. For example, a honeypot can be a virtual server, network device, network port, or web server designed to provide the impression of a live device. It contains fake information and information that could be useful to an attacker.
Administrators set minimum protection on honeypot devices so that intruders can easily access the honeypot. Traffic will be controlled by the administrator.
Advantages of Honeypots
- Helps improve and extend the security of the organization. It acts as a protection and helps identify vulnerabilities and vulnerabilities in the network.
- Help identify zero-day attacks, attack types, and attack behavior.
- If attackers spend their time on the honeypot server, they will not have a chance to compromise the real network.
- Low-cost equipment with low maintenance costs. Honeypots are easy to deploy.
Disadvantages of Honeypots
- Analyzing traffic requires more effort because honeypots can only collect suspicious traffic but do not work on traffic.
- It can only directly identify the attack.
- If the honeypot server is compromised, other network locations can be identified by attackers.
What is Honeynet?
Honeynet is a network of interconnected honeypots and similar systems and real data. Cybersecurity teams use honeynets to learn how criminal threats operate on a larger scale. By identifying which threat attackers are targeting their networks, organizations can strengthen their defenses and protect their assets.
The way the manager sets up the honeypot/honeynet seems to be influenced by outsiders. The goal is to attract susceptible people and keep the attacker away from relationships with valuable resources. Authorized users will not be able to access the honeypot, so all access to the honeypot will be made by an unauthorized user. Honeypots/honeynets are always installed in a different area from production. This configuration allows administrators to analyze traffic and attacks without affecting the live network.
Advantages of Honeynet
- Blocks the infected connection.
- It also aggregates many verdicts, giving you a clear picture of what criminals are trying to do on the network.
Disadvantage of Honeynet
- Honeynets are designed to study about malicious activity but there is always a risk that attackers could use compromised honeypots as a launching pad to attack other systems within the network.
- Implementing and maintaining a honeynet can be expensive, especially for organizations with limited budgets.
How Does a Honeynet work?
Honeynets are based on elements that work together seamlessly. Its contents include:
- Honeypot: A computer designed specifically for hackers, sometimes shipped for research. These computers are set up to hack and steal. When many hubs come together, a network is created.
- Applications and Services: Hackers need to make sure they have access to a valid site.
- No authorization for users or events: The real honeynet only traps hackers.
- Honeywalls: The system must record traffic over honeynet.
Honeynet Working
Honeypots and Honeynet vs. Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS)
The main difference between these three security technologies is that honeypots and honeynets are decoy systems designed to attract criminals into gathering information. In contrast, an intrusion detection system (IDS) monitors connections in real-time. IDS are services designed to analyze network activity, log events, detect attacks, and alert IT staff when suspicious behavior is detected. While all three types of network security measures are effective ways to strengthen an organization’s defenses, honeypots and honeynets allow security professionals to gather the information necessary to solve problems such as IDS.
Best Practices for Deploying Honeypots and Honeynets
The following are the best practices for deploying honeynets and honeypots:
Monitoring: Continuous monitoring is essential to gather better insights about criminal threats, help develop defensive strategies, detect suspicious behavior, resolve problems, and stop cyber attacks.
Data analysis and reporting: Publish collected data to identify unusual activity or malicious patterns. Recognizing the effectiveness of existing security measures and improving long-term security is critical to improving overall security.
Differences Between Honeypots and Honeynets
|
Basis |
Honeypots |
Honeynets |
|---|---|---|
|
Number of devices |
Honeypots can be used in single-device |
Honeynets can be used on multiple devices |
|
Capacity (Hardware) |
Hardware capacity is low in honeypots |
Hardware capacity is high in honeynets |
|
Technology involved |
Honeypots involve limited technology |
Honeynets involve multiple technologies which include data encryption, etc |
|
Cost |
Honeypots are low-cost and require low maintenance |
Honeynets are high-cost and require high maintenance |
|
Accuracy |
Honeypots have moderate accuracy |
Honeynets have high accuracy |
|
Organization size/type |
Honeypots can be used in small organizations and offices |
Honeynets can be used in large office networks and data centers |
Conclusion
The purpose of the honeypot or honeynet influences the precautions that must be taken to ensure that an attack on the honeynet does not affect the infrastructure on which it is used. In a research environment, this can be accomplished through a separate honeynet system. Honeynet/Honeypot is cost-effective in detecting bad traffic. Such production honeypots in the business environment must ensure that they cannot be interrupted by attackers and do not interfere with the communication and control processes of existing equipment.
Frequently Asked Questions on Honeypot vs Honeynet- FAQs
How do hackers use honeypots?
Hackers may also use honeypots to spy on rival hackers in the hopes of obtaining personal information from rival hackers. The purpose of using honeypot in the police is to catch criminals. NATO also uses honeypots to lure hackers into its weapons, tactics and command structures.
Is the honeypot software or hardware?
Honeypot is a software application that traps hackers. There are many options to choose from when it comes to honeypot solutions. Known honeypot software are Glastopf and KFSensor.
Why are honeypots deployed outside the firewall?
Placing honeypots outside the firewall prevents the creation of firewall rules that direct traffic to them. If a hacker breaches the honeypot, the firewall will still provide effective protection to the network.