The term 'honey pot' may well have been invented by ex-British intelligence man and spy novelist John le Carré, but it's a term that's stuck - and is equally applicable in today's virtual world. Cyber security specialists and researchers at Bitdefender regularly set up honeypots of their own, as part of their ongoing efforts to spot and analyse how new and emerging types of malware operate. Broadly speaking, digital honeypots work like this; a piece of code imitates a node on the Internet but makes itself deliberately vulnerable, so people wanting to defraud, hack into or otherwise damage the intellectual property infect it - or a program written to specifically infect such vulnerabilities does what it’s designed to do. Security companies like Bitdefender leave these honeypot nodes around and record data on how viruses behave, then secure them again once they’ve gleaned enough information. Importantly, the recorded data will tell Bitdefender whether an attack is routine or something more unusual and innovative, requiring a new approach in defense - all of which helps in the ever-evolving war against cybercrime. This has never been more important because criminal actors have a new way of getting into people's networks: the Internet of Things (IoT) is offering them more poorly-guarded points of entry than ever before. IoT, in case you're not familiar with the buzzphrase, is a term for a huge amount of items that are connected to the Internet but which may not have a display. If you have security cameras, baby monitors you can 'see' through your phone, fire sensors, a connected thermostat, lightbulb, smart home or office hub, then congratulations, you're part of the Internet of Things. And it's not as secure as you might have hoped. "Many times, these devices are battery powered and feature lightweight CPUs that barely can handle the things the IoT device has been designed to do," says Bogdan Botezatu, senior e-threat analyst at Bitdefender. Security, he says, would be an extra 'feature' which would complicate the design or increase the cost of the device which would then become more complex to set up. "For instance, not forcing a rule for complicated passwords or not forcing the user to change the default username and password can leave them vulnerable to outsiders," he says. The lack of regulation in this sector combined with market forces inevitably means mistakes get made. In lieu of robust regulation, the best thing for users to do is remain vigilant. For the security industry, vigilance extends to the digital equivalent of missions behind enemy lines, with honeypots forming a great first line of defence. "While a honeypot at the office or at home is nice, honeypots placed in financial, education, military or other sensitive verticals can attract a wider range of cyber-criminals with fixed, specific goals in mind," says Botezatu. "A honeypot in a financial institution can inform us in real time about a potential digital robbery from within the bank’s network and so on." None of this is about abandoning your automated home system or disconnecting your smart electricity and gas meters from the Internet. It is about taking basic preventative measures – changing your username and password – and closing the door on people who will walk through and help themselves if it's been left open. Meanwhile Bitdefender's honeypots will go a long way to catching the more sophisticated attempts on security of banks and other vital bodies. You can browse and sign up for Bitdefender products, including the award-winning Bitdefender Internet Security product, here. "Le Creuset Honey Pot, Alessi Glass Family goblet" by Didriks is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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The term 'honey pot' may well have been invented by ex-British intelligence man and spy novelist John le Carré, but it's a term that's stuck - and is equally applicable in today's virtual world. Cyber security specialists and researchers at Bitdefender regularly set up honeypots of their own, as part of their ongoing efforts to spot and analyse how new and emerging types of malware operate. Broadly speaking, digital honeypots work like this; a piece of code imitates a node on the Internet but makes itself deliberately vulnerable, so people wanting to defraud, hack into or otherwise damage the intellectual property infect it - or a program written to specifically infect such vulnerabilities does what it’s designed to do. Security companies like Bitdefender leave these honeypot nodes around and record data on how viruses behave, then secure them again once they’ve gleaned enough information. Importantly, the recorded data will tell Bitdefender whether an attack is routine or something more unusual and innovative, requiring a new approach in defense - all of which helps in the ever-evolving war against cybercrime. This has never been more important because criminal actors have a new way of getting into people's networks: the Internet of Things (IoT) is offering them more poorly-guarded points of entry than ever before. IoT, in case you're not familiar with the buzzphrase, is a term for a huge amount of items that are connected to the Internet but which may not have a display. If you have security cameras, baby monitors you can 'see' through your phone, fire sensors, a connected thermostat, lightbulb, smart home or office hub, then congratulations, you're part of the Internet of Things. And it's not as secure as you might have hoped. "Many times, these devices are battery powered and feature lightweight CPUs that barely can handle the things the IoT device has been designed to do," says Bogdan Botezatu, senior e-threat analyst at Bitdefender. Security, he says, would be an extra 'feature' which would complicate the design or increase the cost of the device which would then become more complex to set up. "For instance, not forcing a rule for complicated passwords or not forcing the user to change the default username and password can leave them vulnerable to outsiders," he says. The lack of regulation in this sector combined with market forces inevitably means mistakes get made. In lieu of robust regulation, the best thing for users to do is remain vigilant. For the security industry, vigilance extends to the digital equivalent of missions behind enemy lines, with honeypots forming a great first line of defence. "While a honeypot at the office or at home is nice, honeypots placed in financial, education, military or other sensitive verticals can attract a wider range of cyber-criminals with fixed, specific goals in mind," says Botezatu. "A honeypot in a financial institution can inform us in real time about a potential digital robbery from within the bank’s network and so on." None of this is about abandoning your automated home system or disconnecting your smart electricity and gas meters from the Internet. It is about taking basic preventative measures – changing your username and password – and closing the door on people who will walk through and help themselves if it's been left open. Meanwhile Bitdefender's honeypots will go a long way to catching the more sophisticated attempts on security of banks and other vital bodies. You can browse and sign up for Bitdefender products, including the award-winning Bitdefender Internet Security product, here. "Le Creuset Honey Pot, Alessi Glass Family goblet" by Didriks is licensed under CC BY 2.0.