How do honeypots record and analyze attacker behavior?

Honeypots record and analyze attacker behavior by simulating vulnerable systems or services to attract malicious actors. Once an attacker interacts with the honeypot, it logs all activities, including connection attempts, commands executed, data accessed, and tools used. This data is then analyzed to understand attack techniques, identify vulnerabilities, and improve security defenses.

How it works:

1. Data Collection: The honeypot monitors all interactions, such as network traffic, login attempts, file transfers, and system commands. It captures details like IP addresses, timestamps, and payloads.
2. Behavior Analysis: The logged data is examined to identify patterns, such as exploit attempts, malware deployment, or lateral movement. Advanced honeypots may use machine learning to detect anomalies.
3. Threat Intelligence: Insights from the honeypot help organizations understand emerging attack methods and strengthen their real systems.

Example: A decoy database honeypot mimics a financial system. An attacker tries to extract data using SQL injection. The honeypot logs the injected queries, the attacker’s IP, and the tools used (e.g., SQLmap). Analysts review the logs to patch vulnerabilities in the actual database.

Tencent Cloud Solution: Tencent Cloud offers Honeypot Services (part of its security solutions) that help deploy virtual traps to detect and analyze threats. These services integrate with Cloud Security Center to provide real-time alerts and threat intelligence.