In the world of cybersecurity, one of the most effective ways to detect and analyze malicious activity is through the use of Shadow Honeypot. Shadow Server honeypots are systems or applications that are designed to lure attackers into revealing their tactics and techniques, providing valuable insights into their behavior and enabling security teams to improve their defenses. One type of honeypot that has gained popularity in recent years is the “shadow honeypot“.In this blog, we will discuss shadow honeypots along with their definitions, operations, benefits, and drawbacks.
The Shadow Honeypot:-
Shadow honeypot take the concept of a traditional honeypot and enhance it by deploying a network of honeypots that are hidden behind the actual production systems. These shadow honeypots are created to merge with the rest of the network so that an attacker cannot easily differentiate between legitimate systems and decoys.
As opposed to traps referred to as honeypots that attempt to engage with the attacker (which risks damage to the production environment), shadow honeypots are devoid of engagement and, therefore, are passive monitoring systems. Their design seeks to disguise them as production systems in order to entice undetected malicious activity.
How does a Shadow Honeypot Work?
A shadow honeypot operates on the premise that network traffic and other compromise indicators within a production network are active signs of malicious behavior. The isolated pseudonyms can then be treated as shadow honeypots which allow deviating behavior to be captured while simultaneously ensuring no risk to the production environment. Shadow honeypots are highly extensible and configurable to monitor system files, logs, and network traffic for varying degrees of activity. Automated filters can be constructed for specific attack vectors such as malware infections and phishing attacks.
Benefits of Shadow Honeypots:
Passive monitoring: Shadow honeypots are designed as passive monitoring systems and, as such, pose no liability to the production environment. This helps simplify their deployment and maintenance compared to regular honeypots, which often require more complex configuration and present considerable risk.
Comprehensive view: Unlike traditional honeypots, shadow honeypots can provide more comprehensive coverage of attackers’ behavior while traversing through the entire network instead of being fixated on a particular system or service.
Reduced false positives: Unlike traditional honeypots which are commonly mislabeled as attack monitors, shadow honeypots will create fewer false positives during the monitoring phase. The blending-in design enables them to trigger alerts only when malicious activity takes place.
Ethical considerations: Shadow honeypots provide a more ethical approach to cyber surveillance without using deception, unlike traditional honeypots that pose risks to the production environment or network.
Disadvantages of Shadow Honeypots:
Like any technology, shadow honeypots also have their disadvantages, including:
Limited Engagement: Traditional honeypots actively interact with attackers to gather data and insight whereas shadow honeypots lack active engagement, limiting their capability to provide insights on attackers’ tactics and techniques.
Limited customization: Shadow honeypots track activity within the honeypot’s environment meaning that they may not be as customizable as traditional honeypots.
Detection Technique Overview: Shadow honeypots can generate false positives where benign activity may be flagged as malicious activity. This has the potential to lead to wasted effort as security staff seek to validate these alerts.
Reduced spatial focus: Even though shadow honeypots offer an all-encompassing view of an attacker’s behavior throughout the entire network, traditional honeypots offer more detail and granularity.
Conclusion:-
In conclusion, shadow honeypots serve an important role in detecting and analyzing potentially harmful activity on a network. They improve security by offering a protective surveillance system that effortlessly integrates with the production environment in order to monitor for boundless activities. Even though they provide less insight into the attacker’s tactics and techniques compared to traditional honeypots, they are known to be less adverse and easier to manage.
