What is a “honeypot” in the context of cybersecurity? The term first appeared in the 1980s and 1990s, when it was used to describe precisely that, a honey trap that lured in unsuspecting hackers, putting them on the back foot. Clifford Stoll’s 1989 book The Cuckoo’s Egg is the first official documentation of a honeypot in the cyber world. Stoll tells the story of using what he called a “honeypot” to find a German hacker who had infiltrated U.S. military computers. Now the term is used in cybersecurity as a method of documenting hackers’ behavioral patterns by trapping them in a system they thought was unprotected.[1]
Fast forward to 2025, and honeypots have become a recognized, important tool in the cybersecurity toolbox. In the future, honeypots will require a strategic approach that balances innovation, security, and operational efficiency.
According to Cyber News, VPS (Virtual Private Server) honeypots, “traps deployed on virtual private servers,” are emerging as one of the smartest tools in the cybersecurity arsenal. Organizations are using these honeypots to observe and analyze attackers in real time, without risking their critical infrastructure.
Isolation looks to be the primary advantage of these VPS honeypots, as they would be fully disconnected from real infrastructure. This makes it unlikely that an attacker would break out and compromise the system, assuming it remains isolated from the operational network.
Even VPS honeypots do not come without risks, however. Cyber News lists some of the challenges:
- -Detection by attackers. High-tier adversaries may notice honeypots. This reduces their effectiveness.
- -Resource overhead. Highly interactive setups can generate large volumes of data. This requires robust analysis tools and storage.
- -Misuse potential. If isolation is weak, attackers can escape the honeypot and attack other targets.
- -Legal and compliance concerns. Mishandling data or violating regional laws can lead to serious consequences.
- -Noisy data. Honeypots log low-value events too, so careful filtering and expert review are needed to sift through the noise.
Historically, the other significant problem with honeypots has been the financial cost and resource use. Medium reports that “Setting up and maintaining honeypots can be expensive and time-consuming.” Companies and organizations must determine if the risk of deploying, monitoring, and analyzing data from a honeypot is worthwhile. Honey pots can be a long-term investment, but they can also cause false alarms, diverting resources to harmless situations and siphoning them away from real, credible threats.
Another major concern, as noted by TechTarget, is “limited data” because honeypots can collect information only during an attack. In other words, if it’s not activated, if nobody falls into the trap, nothing can be learned, and no data can be collected. But there remains a growing need to find novel ways to manage attacks, as cybersecurity incidents are not decreasing. On the contrary, they are escalating rapidly. Since the pandemic, according to 2024 research from the International Monetary Fund, cyberattacks have more than doubled, resulting in financial losses that have quadrupled since 2017 to $2.5 billion.
According to Verified Markets, the market size for honeypots in 2024 was forecast at $2.4 billion and is expected to reach $7.5 billion by 2033, showing an annual compound growth rate (CAGR) of 14.0% from 2026 to 2033.
One reason for this predicted future growth is that, despite their drawbacks, honeypots offer clear advantages, and VPS honeypots and AI in tandem might pave the way for a brighter future for honeypots. If you can overcome some of the issues mentioned previously, there are notable upsides to using honeypots.
Some of the benefits are obvious. Honeypots can detect attack attempts before they become operational or effective in real systems. Early detection is crucial for organizations to act swiftly and stop breaches before they happen, essentially halting cybercriminals in the act. Additionally, according to Medium, understanding attacker behavior by deploying a honeypot means a more comprehensive understanding of hackers’ “methods, tools, and tactics.” This loops back to the importance of early detection and “improving overall security measures.” Other valuable uses: Honeypots “help uncover system vulnerabilities that might otherwise go unnoticed” because cybercriminals are lured into thinking the environment is safe. Finally, honeypots serve as training tools for cybersecurity professionals, providing real-time training to develop and improve skills.
An additional consideration regarding honeypots is the rising role of AI in every aspect of cybersecurity. Cyber Security Tribe recently reported that we are on the “cusp of a new era in cybersecurity.” An AI-generated honeypot could be more dynamic and fluid, able to learn and adapt to threats in real time. Honeypots run by AI would then become “indispensable tools in the defense arsenal of organizations worldwide” with the usual caveats related to the use of AI. AI may promise an evolution in the creation of honeypots; instead of static decoys, they could be equipped to create more environments of sophisticated deception. In the not-too-distant future, it’s predicted that honeypots may “dynamically adjust their environment, services, and logs to match evolving attack patterns, making it difficult for attackers to identify the decoy.” So, while honeytraps will continue to lure in malicious actors, the shape and scope of the trap may change.
This article is shared at no charge for educational and informational purposes only.
Red Sky Alliance is a Cyber Threat Analysis and Intelligence Service organization. We provide indicators-of-compromise information via a notification service (RedXray) or an analysis service (CTAC). For questions, comments or assistance, please contact the office directly at 1-844-492-7225 or feedback@redskyalliance.com
- Reporting: https://www.redskyalliance.org/
- Website: https://www.redskyalliance.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/64265941
Weekly Cyber Intelligence Briefings:
REDSHORTS - Weekly Cyber Intelligence Briefings
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/5207428251321676122
[1] https://www.cybersecurityintelligence.com/blog/honeypots---cybersecurity-decoys-8896.html
Comments