You can be Honey, Honeypots, Honeynets, & Hackers

“You can be Honey.” It’s what my Close Friend & Relationship Coach, Jess Powell repeatedly said to me, when I was unsure how I should respond to someone. See Jess's Relationship Coaching Site What does it mean to be Honey? To be sweet, alluring, magnetic, attractive. I’m sure you’re wondering why this Cybersecurity SME is writing an article about Honey instead of Threat Intel and Attack Vectors =), and I am certain, that I still have your Attention…

See what I did there? Honey. The same doctrine is used for Honeypots. In terms of Cybersecurity, a Honeypot is an Individual Computer that is set up as a trap for gatecrashers. (I just really wanted an excuse to use the word gatecrasher – think intruder if you’d prefer). There is also such a thing called Honeynets, which is multiple computers connected to form a simulated Network, with the same purpose.

A Honeypot is a Deterrent Control. Much like the man I met recently under circumstances that I’m not going to share; a Deterrent Control is like a Detective. They come in after-the-fact and investigate to gather as much information as possible before they determine what they think happened. In other words, a Deterrent Control cannot prevent an attack from happening, but it can observe the incident after it has happened. 

Amateur Hackers beware, Honeypots are known to open common ports. They don’t store any real data such as the data you would find in a production system. They are merely there for the organization that deploys them to gain valuable insight and information about different types of attacks and attack methods are out there. If you are interested in Hacking, but would rather sit out Amateur Hour – Fill out this contact form and I will be happy to get in touch and discuss the different avenues that a student or professional can take to become an Ethical Hacker, Penetration Tester, Vulnerability Assessor, etc. Fun jobs! But you MUST – be Accountable. There are many examples of pros in these positions who have been arrested while performing pen tests, novice hackers who learn a little and try to play around, and more.

About the Author

Ashley Oliver is an experienced Cybersecurity Consultant, Engineer, Mentor and Teacher based in the Central New York area. Ashley has over 10 years of experience. Ashley is a SME in several areas of security including Network Security Engineering, Architecture, Policy, Standards, and Compliance. Ashley's rare and unique experience is based on her love for the Shell, and perfect design. Ashley has knowledge of NIST, and is very proficient in Layered Security, DLP, Encryption, IPSec, and more, and she is always more than willing to share and to teach.