Browse Definitions :
Definition

virtual honeypot

Ivy Wigmore
By

A virtual honeypot is software that emulates a vulnerable system or network to attract intruders and study their behavior. 

Honeypot owners can gather information about intruders and their actions that can help identify network vulnerabilities and take actions to protect weak points. The information can also be used to determine what IP addresses and requests should be blocked. Attacker information can also be turned over to the authorities. 

Virtual honeypots contrast with hardware-based honeypots, which are dedicated computers, networks or network segments designed to serve the same purpose. Virtual honeypots can be thought of as virtual machines (VMs) which may exist in multiple configurations on a single computer or appliance to emulate various systems and vulnerabilities.

Virtual honeypots are cheaper to deploy and more secure than hardware-based systems. In some cases, for example, real honeypots have been infiltrated by intruders who were able to use them to attack the corporate network. However, because a virtual honeypot is an emulator, it doesn't function exactly as a real system does and hackers may be able to pick up on cues that indicate the difference. 

See a video introduction to using honeyd virtual honeypot software:

This was last updated in June 2018

Continue Reading About virtual honeypot

SearchCompliance

  • information governance

    Information governance is a holistic approach to managing corporate information by implementing processes, roles, controls and ...

  • enterprise document management (EDM)

    Enterprise document management (EDM) is a strategy for overseeing an organization's paper and electronic documents so they can be...

  • risk assessment

    Risk assessment is the identification of hazards that could negatively impact an organization's ability to conduct business.

SearchSecurity

  • honeypot (computing)

    A honeypot is a network-attached system set up as a decoy to lure cyber attackers and detect, deflect and study hacking attempts ...

  • spam trap

    A spam trap is an email address that is used to identify and monitor spam email.

  • cracker

    A cracker is someone who breaks into someone else's computer system, often on a network; bypasses passwords or licenses in ...

SearchHealthIT

SearchDisasterRecovery

  • risk mitigation

    Risk mitigation is a strategy to prepare for and lessen the effects of threats faced by a business.

  • call tree

    A call tree is a layered hierarchical communication model that is used to notify specific individuals of an event and coordinate ...

  • Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS)

    Disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) is the replication and hosting of physical or virtual servers by a third party to provide ...

SearchStorage

  • cloud storage

    Cloud storage is a service model in which data is transmitted and stored on remote storage systems, where it is maintained, ...

  • cloud testing

    Cloud testing is the process of using the cloud computing resources of a third-party service provider to test software ...

  • storage virtualization

    Storage virtualization is the pooling of physical storage from multiple storage devices into what appears to be a single storage ...

Close