Assignment Instructions:
Week-5: Cloud-Based Honeypots
Research cloud-based honeypots. What are their advantages? What are their
disadvantages? When should they not be used? How could one be set up? Create a two-
page paper on your research. All assignments must be submitted in APA-7 format.
, Introduction
Cloud-based honeypots are virtualized security tools deployed in cloud environments to
detect, deflect, and study unauthorized access attempts and cyberattacks. Unlike
traditional on-premises honeypots, cloud-based honeypots operate within scalable and
distributed infrastructures such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or
Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Their primary goal is to simulate vulnerable systems or
services, enticing attackers to engage and reveal their methods, motives, and tools. This
data provides cybersecurity teams with actionable intelligence on emerging threats,
malware behaviors, and intrusion tactics. The deployment of honeypots in cloud
environments has grown rapidly due to the shift toward hybrid and multi-cloud
architectures.
Advantages of Cloud-Based Honeypots
Cloud-based honeypots offer numerous advantages over traditional setups. First, they are
highly scalable. Because cloud environments provide elastic computing resources,
organizations can deploy multiple honeypots across different regions and service tiers
with minimal cost and effort. Second, cloud-based honeypots improve visibility by
capturing attack data from diverse locations and threat vectors, such as DDoS attempts,
credential stuffing, or exploitation of misconfigured APIs. Third, they enhance cost-
effectiveness, as virtual machines or containers can be spun up and down on demand,
avoiding hardware costs. Finally, cloud honeypots benefit from integration with cloud-
native monitoring and logging tools like AWS CloudWatch or Azure Sentinel, providing
centralized data collection and faster incident response.