Introduction
Cyber deception or cyber detection technology (CDT) is a new frontier in cybersecurity. For years, organizations have used traditional security controls to protect their environment, but cyber deception technology is a different approach that offers a much more layered defense against advanced adversaries.
Cyber deception involves alternative infrastructure that mimics genuine assets within a network to lure attackers and track their movements. This allows organizations to better understand attack vectors and how to defend against them. Additionally, this provides delay and sometimes denies attackers to achieve their objectives.
Cyber deception can be used in conjunction with traditional security measures. By creating a more layered approach to security, organizations can better protect their systems from sophisticated cyber-attacks.
What is Cyber Deception
Cyber deception uses fake digital assets in a network environment to detect, misdirect, and disrupt adversaries. Cyber deception can be used in conjunction with traditional security measures to provide a layered approach to organization security strategies – it may come in handy where (or when) those measures fail.
Cyber deception can be used to protect against several attacks, including:
- Data exfiltration
- Malware infections
- Ransomware attacks
- Phishing attacks
- Unauthorized accesses
- Insider threats
Additionally, cyber detection can be incorporated into an organization’s Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI), Threat Detection Engineering, and Threat Hunting efforts.
Organizations can use different types of cyber deception depending on their needs and the kind of attacks they are trying to prevent. For example, an organization worried about sophisticated attacks that target specific information may use decoys that look like the actual data they are trying to protect. This type of deception can help organizations detect and prevent attacks before they happen.
Cyber deception can also confuse and delay attackers so that they cannot mount a successful attack.
How Cyber Deception Works
Cyber deception technology can help organizations in a few ways. First, it can help to detect attacks that are in progress. Cyber deception technology can create fake digital assets that attackers may interact with, which will trigger an alert to the security team. This allows the team to take action immediately and stop the attack.
Second, cyber deception technology can help prevent attacks from happening in the first place. By creating fake digital assets, attackers may be lured into thinking they have found a vulnerable system or account. This gives the security team time to prepare and defend against the attack.
Benefits of Cyber Deception
There are several benefits to using cyber deception technology, including:
- Increased situational awareness: Cyber deception can help organizations better understand their adversaries’ techniques, tactics, and procedures (TTP). This can help organizations improve their overall security posture.
- Increased detection capability: Cyber deception can help organizations detect malicious activity that may otherwise go undetected. This can help organizations protect their systems from malware infections, data exfiltration, and other attacks.
- Reduced response time: Cyber deception can help organizations detect and respond to attacks more quickly. This can help minimize the damage caused by an attack and minimize the impact on the organization.
- Slow adversaries: Cyber deception can help slow down adversaries and give organizations more time to respond to an attack. This can help organizations avoid or minimize the impact of an attack.
- Increase the cost of attacking: Cyber deception can make it more costly for adversaries to attack an organization. This can help deter attacks and protect the organization’s assets.
Deploying Cyber Deception
Organizations can deploy cyber deception technology in a few different ways. One way is to use honeypots and honeynets. Honeypots are systems set up expressly to be attacked, whereas honeynets are networks of honeypots. Attackers will typically move from the most vulnerable systems to the less vulnerable ones. By identifying these patterns, organizations can better defend their systems.
Another way to deploy cyber deception technology is through decoys or honey tokens. Decoys are systems set up to look like legitimate systems but are fake. Attackers will often attempt to extract data or passwords from these systems. By identifying these attempts, organizations can better protect their real systems.
Organizations can also use cyber deception to track attackers’ movements within a network. Organizations can better defend their systems by knowing where attackers are coming from and what they are trying to do.
Cyber Deception Challenges
Cyber deception technology can be a crucial tool and strategy in defending against sophisticated cyber attacks. It can be used to better understand attack vectors and how to protect against them through decoys and traps that mimic existing assets, but there are challenges with its implementation.
Organizations must correctly implement cyber deception systems to work effectively, which requires specialized skillsets and knowledge. Cyber deception technology is also constantly evolving, making it challenging to keep up with the latest changes. In addition, cyber deception systems need to be monitored and maintained on an ongoing basis to ensure that they are working as intended.
The Future Of Cyber Deception
Cyber deception is still a relatively new technology, and there are many potential uses for it in the future. For example, it could help organizations respond to cyber-attacks in real-time or simulate different types of attacks to test the effectiveness of security measures. Additionally, as deception technology evolves, it will likely become more widely used and accepted as a valuable tool for cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity is an ever-evolving field that must lead organizations to adapt to new threats and be more resilient. Deception technology is one way organizations can improve their cybersecurity posture and defend themselves against sophisticated cyber-attacks.
