Honey Tokens

Honey tokens are useless IT resources that are of high value to cybercriminals. They’re created intentionally to bait cybercriminals and foil their attempts to breach data. 

Honey tokens are placed alongside actual data where they blend in. When a perpetrator tries to access honey tokens, thinking of them as sensitive information, an alert is sent to the IT teams, informing them of a breach.

The primary goal of a honey token is to help IT teams identify the perpetrator with malicious intent and the method of attack. This allows organizations to strengthen their security measures and avoid future data breaches. 

Examples of honey tokens include:

• Fake email addresses

• Fake database data

• Fake executable files

• Canary traps

• AWS keys

How do Honey Tokens Work?

Here’s how honey tokens typically work:

Honey Token deployment

This step involves identifying high-value assets that are more likely to be targeted by attackers and placing honey tokens. The purpose here is to blend the honey tokens in.

Example: Here are two examples of honeytoken deployment:

• Adding files in the database with names and data similar to sensitive documents.

• Adding real-looking credentials into the config files.

Threat detection

Honeytokens are linked to:

• Security Information and Event Management or SIEM platform

• Or Intrusion Detection System IDS

These systems continuously monitor the honey tokens.

An alert is instantly sent to the IT team whenever the attacker opens, copies, or moves the honey tokens. As honey tokens are useless to legitimate employees, there is zero possibility of false positives; only an attacker will interact with them.

Incident response

Upon notification, the IT or security teams can take the necessary actions, which vary from organization to organization. However, it generally involves:

• Gathering info about the attacker.

• Retracing their steps

• Understanding how deep they were able to reach within the organization.

• Removal of the breached resource.

Why Honey Tokens Are Important

Here are the primary benefits of honey tokens:

• Detecting Insider Threats & External Breaches: Honey tokens help detect outsiders trying to breach an organization's firewall and insiders (employees) who may be trying to misuse credentials.

• Early Identification of Malicious Actors and Compromised Accounts: Honey tokens allow organizations to detect perpetrators early when no actual damage has been done. This enables organizations to exfiltrate the cybercriminals and strengthen their security measures to prevent future breaches.

• Enhancing Layered Security: Honey tokens are known to complement or seamlessly integrate with existing security measures, including intrusion detection systems and firewalls. This adds another layer of security, providing active threat detection and strengthening the overall system security.

Examples of Honey Tokens in Practice

Here is an example to help you better understand how honey tokens work:

Example: A Fake API Key

• A fake API key is created to act as a honey token.

• The fake API is placed in a location that attackers typically target to access sensitive information,i.e., the app’s config files.

• Whenever a cybercriminal tries to use or extract the API key, an intrusion detection system sends an alert to the IT team.

• The IT team takes charge, traces the steps, fixes the issue, and prevents future attacks.

Challenges in Implementing Honey Tokens

Although effective, implementing honey tokens brings it’s own set of challenges, including:

• Balancing Realism: It can be challenging for the IT team to create honey tokens that are valuable enough to lure attackers but not too obvious. If the honey tokens are too transparent, attackers may identify and bypass them, foiling the organization’s efforts.

• Avoiding Interference with Legitimate Operations: Honey tokens might interfere with and disrupt the regular workflow if not appropriately deployed. For example, if a honey token is placed at a location frequently accessed by regular employees, an insider might mistakenly trigger an alert, wasting the IT team's time.

• Regularly Updating and Monitoring Honey Tokens: Organizations must deploy dedicated resources that continuously review and update the honey tokens to maintain their effectiveness. If honey tokens are not updated or the strategy is not changed, attackers could recognize the pattern and play safe, rendering the entire process useless.

Alternatives and Extensions to Honey Tokens

Here are some alternatives and extensions to honey tokens that can help you 

• Honeypots: Honeypots are fake systems created to mimic real ones, such as servers or applications, to lure cyber attackers. While they might sound similar to honey tokens, honeypots are entire systems or networks, not a single file or credential. Honeypots offer more in-depth insights into attack strategies and are a little trickier to maintain. 

• Deception-as-a-Service (DaaS): These pre-built deception strategies include honeypots and honey tokens. They enable organizations to instantly deploy advanced deception techniques without needing extensive infrastructure.

• Integration with SIEM Systems: Organizations can integrate honey tokens with Security Information and Event Management Systems (SIEM) to enable real-time tracking and receive centralized alerts. This enables organizations to quickly assess the situation, track the attacker’s movement, and take the necessary steps.