IDG Contributor Network: Decoy networks are the secret to deflecting hackers

Attackers have a time advantage over static computer networks because the bad guys can simply hover around the network for long periods, study it and look for an advantage. The computer network is usually just sitting there, dawdling like unfortunate prey silhouetted in a hunter’s rifle scope.

The observing hackers can even disappear for a while, return and find nothing’s changed. The vulnerabilities are still in place. Bang! The perp hits when it’s convenient, and it’s all over.

The best solution to this time-advantage problem are computer defenses that sense malevolent investigations of the network and then squirt the attack over to a fake network that proffers no intelligence about the genuine network, according to some. They were written about as long ago as 2004 in the International Journal of Digital Evidence (PDF).

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