Honeynets: a tool for counterintelligence in online security
David Jonathan Watson · Network Security · 2007
Honeynets are a sweet solution for security experts who want to keep up to date on the latest exploits used by online intruders. But as they evolve, unwitting crackers might find them a bitter pill to swallow. First conceived in the late 1980s, honeynets have gone through a couple of stages of development. These days, they can be logical or physical, and configured to be highly interactive or lower key. Honeywalls monitor intruders’ actions to stop damaging outbound traffic from compromising other systems, and the whole thing can be configured remotely, with honeypots in disparate locations logging nefarious activities on a global basis. Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese general, summed up one of online security's basic principles over two millennia before electricity was invented. “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles,” he said.