What role can honeypots play in enterprise network security protection?

Honeypots play a crucial role in enterprise network security by acting as decoy systems or data repositories designed to attract and detect attackers. Unlike real production systems, honeypots have no legitimate business purpose, so any interaction with them is typically malicious. Their primary functions include:

1. Early Threat Detection: Honeypots can identify attackers probing the network before they target critical systems. For example, a fake database server (honeypot) might attract SQL injection attempts, alerting security teams to potential threats.
2. Attack Analysis: By studying how attackers interact with honeypots, enterprises can understand their methods, tools, and targets. This intelligence helps improve defenses against real attacks.
3. Diversion & Delay: Honeypots distract attackers from real assets, buying time for security teams to respond while the intruder wastes time on fake systems.
4. Zero-Day Threat Research: Since honeypots are not used for legitimate services, any activity on them is suspicious, making them useful for detecting previously unknown (zero-day) exploits.

Example: An enterprise deploys a honeypot mimicking a file server containing fake financial records. When an attacker tries to access or exfiltrate these files, the honeypot logs the intrusion, revealing the attacker’s IP, methods, and intentions.

In the cloud, Tencent Cloud's honeypot solutions (like those integrated with Cloud Security products) can help enterprises deploy virtual decoys across their cloud infrastructure to detect and analyze threats in real time. These solutions enhance visibility into attack patterns without exposing real assets.