Organizations and businesses which are obsessed with making their on-board cloud security impenetrable should consider the implementation of the cloud honeypots. In general terms, a honeypot is a sophisticated computer system that is designed to detect, deflect or counterfeit any unauthorized access or even a try at gaining access to classified information systems. A honeypot can be implemented over cloud systems to ensure no breaches or data hacks take place by unknown or unauthorized personnel.
Honeypot Systems; a Smart and Sophisticated take on Cybersecurity
As described earlier, a honeypot is a sophisticated system and is designed to capture or record the actions of the infiltrators once they have gained access to the security systems. Honeypots only let the cyber-criminals believe that they have reached their particular target while they are only playing the game on a stage set by the security expert on a particular cloud or physical infrastructure.
Once a cybercriminal gains surety that they have full anonymity and try to deploy whatever viruses or malware they have or take classified information with them, the honeypots constantly record all their actions. They don’t leave anything behind, from the type of software or tool used for hacking to the exact data infiltrated is being recorded by the honeypots. Sometimes it is deliberately, that means the organization is running a drill and wants to find the potential nodes of leak and penetration other times it involves actual investigative work by a honeypot in spite of the recent hack or data breach.
Hosting a honeypot is often too expensive, and there are some other challenges involved. Sometimes the hackers are smart enough to bypass the honeypots and reach the original system network, and a honeypot should be regularly optimized and maintained for its dedicated services concerning cybersecurity.
Some of these challenges can be overcome by using public cloud systems that can host the honeypot without the emergence of any of the risks mentioned above. Let's have a clear look into the matter and come around some of the advantages as well as limitations of the cloud-based honeypots;
Advantages of Cloud-Based Honeypots
1. Complete Network Isolation
One of the key advantages of hiring the services of hosting cloud is that these provide complete system isolation for honeypots away from any production network. This helps to keep the overall anonymity of the honeypots intact and thus making the hackers believe that they have reached the official network systems while they are just roaming around a façade.
2. No need for maintenance
Another challenge previously faced by the management authorities for honeypots was that it required continuous up-gradation and maintenance for efficient working. With the help of the cloud-based honeypot, the problem is resolved; once a cloud-based honeypot system is deployed, there is no need for effective maintenance or dedicated internet connections. In events of a breach, the machines compromised can be reverted to its previous state using a snapshot of the digital data imprinted as a backup in the cloud backup systems.
So, the grave loss of important data and delicate information can be overcome within just a click. The network admin for a dedicated company won't have to deal with the underlying challenges of data backup; it will be provided automatically. The professionals then can use the essential data captured by the honeypot over the cloud to run analysis over the company's network and secure the potential nodes of leak or breach.
3. Imminent Honeypot deployment
One of the fascinating aspects of a cloud-based honeypot system is that it can be deployed almost instantly anywhere in the world. You can select multiple geographical locations available on the cloud configuration and deploy the honeypot system over any particular domain or network channel of the company. You can deploy a honeypot in Asia and then move it the next day towards any country in Europe with just a few overall clicks.
4. Flexible & perfectly synced honeypot systems
A honeypot system is extremely beneficial in terms of research and intelligence gathering purposes because of the anonymity it puts on. Hackers or cybercriminals will reach a honeypot and then provide/interact with certain information with their consent thinking they are either secure or have reached their specific target. If you launch a distributed honeypot network with various sensors, then it can act as one unit, distributed across many countries yet in perfect sync and harmony.
Limitations of the Cloud-Based Honeypots
No doubt that a honeypot provides a sophisticated investigation of the linked network systems taking care of all the incomings and the outgoings and preventing unauthorized access, but it also comes with a few drawbacks.
The one obvious risk is the actual placement of the honeypot; it can either be hosted within the company's infrastructure or separately using a fake domain name or company's web address the hackers are interested in. Doing so, the organization will be able to intercept the potential points of a leak in their network while collecting actionable data from the breach, but they are ultimately putting the security of their infrastructure at risk.
Using the fake method, the company might be able to stop the attack from infiltrating their systems but will be at a loss over collection actionable data from the fake attacks.
The same goes for the cloud-based honeypots; the hosting cloud companies don't like the idea of deploying a honeypot directly in their network system. Doing so, they are putting the security of other user's data in jeopardy. In events of a hack or breach, if a honeypot is compromised, then other additional sectors of the hosted cloud network can also be affected. The hosting company can lose their business due to data breach spreading to their other viable customers.
That is why while setting up a cloud-based honeypot, you need to make sure with the hosting company that you are, in fact, clear to deploy your honeypot into their infrastructure or main system network. Using a honeypot brings a considerable amount of advantages but not without some associated risks within its use.