How does Cloud Honeypot work?

A Cloud Honeypot is a decoy system or service deployed in the cloud to attract and detect malicious activities, such as cyberattacks or unauthorized access attempts. It mimics real assets (e.g., servers, databases, or APIs) to lure attackers, allowing security teams to analyze their behavior, tools, and techniques without risking actual production systems.

How It Works:

1. Deployment: A honeypot is set up in the cloud, often configured to appear vulnerable or valuable (e.g., an unpatched web server or a fake database).
2. Attraction: Attackers scan for open ports or services and interact with the honeypot, mistaking it for a legitimate target.
3. Monitoring: The honeypot logs all interactions, including IP addresses, attack methods, and payloads, providing insights into threat patterns.
4. Analysis: Security teams study the collected data to identify new vulnerabilities, malware, or attack techniques.

Example:

A company deploys a Cloud Honeypot resembling a MySQL database with weak credentials in a public cloud environment. Attackers attempt to brute-force login or execute SQL injection. The honeypot records these actions, revealing the attackers' IP addresses and tools, which helps the company strengthen its real database defenses.

For cloud-based honeypot solutions, Tencent Cloud offers T-Sec-HoneyPot, a managed service that integrates with its cloud infrastructure to detect and analyze threats in real time. It provides customizable decoys and detailed threat intelligence reports.