For IoT manufacturers and developers, it’s challenging to guarantee device security. Part of this stems from a lack of a unified cybersecurity standard for IoT, but the biggest problem is the efficiency of cybercriminals. IoT technology is everywhere, representing a gold mine for those who have the skills and the lack of ethics necessary to perform cyberattacks.

With the number of threats that emerge every day, IoT needs to stay ahead of the cybercriminals. One of the solutions that provide a nice layer of cybersecurity protection for IoT is using honeypot technique. Let’s have a closer look at what honeypot is and how it can protect IoT devices:

In essence, a honeypot is a cybersecurity solution that acts as bait for cybercriminals, luring them away from the actual device being protected. It’s a decoy that imitates a vulnerable target, with the capability to gather data about attacks and report this to the defender.

A honeypot appears like a part of the network, but it’s completely isolated, so there’s no risk for the user. Its function is twofold: the main one is to safely lure the cyberattackers away from your valuable IoT devices while providing insights if an attack on the honeypot occur.

Honeypots tend to belong to one of two types: production honeypots or research honeypots. Their capabilities differ slightly based on the type. A production honeypot is part of a decoy network intrusion detection system or IDS, designed to attract hackers.

On the other hand, research honeypots are more like hacker traps, containing data that can be traced to the attacker after it is stolen. A honeypot that is deployed as a part of a network can gather a significant amount of data in the case of an attack, which helps users defend against real threats.

One of the main benefits of using honeypot is that it collects data about real cyberattacks, which can provide valuable insight into your defenses. Honeypots also don’t raise false alarms, so you’ll only get an alert in real-time that an attack is occurring. What’s more, they can even capture encrypted malicious activity.

However, a honeypot has to be set up correctly and securely to avoid being used as an entry point into a system. Honeypots also shouldn’t be the only means of IoT protection, as an experienced cybercriminal might still be able to recognize a honeypot and ignore it.

To summarize, a honeypot is a viable IoT protection option, but it shouldn’t be the only layer of protection. Because IoT devices can be such lucrative targets for cybercriminals, it’s essential for IoT manufacturers, developers, and cybersecurity professionals to work together on securing IoT solutions by design. That way, we can step into a brighter technological future where we don’t have to fear whether we’ll be exploited using our own devices.

It’s possible to protect IoT devices — all it takes is continuous effort being put into developing proper countermeasures that would protect every type of device.