Honeypots 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Honeypots

Introduction

In the realm of cybersecurity, protecting your digital assets is a multi-faceted challenge. With cyber threats growing more sophisticated by the day, organizations and individuals need to stay ahead of attackers by implementing proactive defense mechanisms. One such tool in the cybersecurity arsenal is the honeypot — a decoy system designed to lure attackers, detect their activities, and gather intelligence. Honeypots are an effective way to understand the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by malicious actors, providing valuable insights that can be used to fortify real systems.

This guide aims to introduce beginners to the concept of honeypots, explain how they work, and explore different types of honeypots, along with their practical applications in cybersecurity. By the end of this blog, you’ll have a clear understanding of how honeypots can be used as a defensive tool to protect your network and gather critical intelligence on potential threats.

1. What is a Honeypot?

A honeypot is a security mechanism that acts as a decoy to attract attackers, creating the illusion of a legitimate, vulnerable target. The primary purpose of a honeypot is to detect, monitor, and analyze attack patterns while misleading attackers away from valuable…