Cyber Security 101: An Introduction to Deceptive Technology

Deceptive technology is an outside-the-box cyber security approach that aims to turn the current paradigm on its head – from reactionary to proactive defense.

Traditional, signature-based security measures continue to fall prey to sophisticated zero-day attacks and advanced persistent threats, despite the fact that companies are spending upwards of $3 million per year on information security.

It’s time for organizations to get proactive, and use deceptive technology to enhance the way they architect a comprehensive security strategy.

4 Things Every CIO & CISO Must Know: Deceptive Cyber Security

1. Manipulating the One Thing Cyber Attackers Count On

Attackers have long been able to trust companies. They work on the fundamental assumption that the infrastructure data they see is real. Deceptive technology uses carefully designed lures to attract attackers during infiltration and instantly identify them.

2. Providing Instant Gratification

With firewalls and antivirus software, it can often take months to realize that a breach has occurred – and at times, these attacks go entirely unnoticed.

Deceptive technology triggers alerts the moment an attacker “trips the wire”. With the average cost of a data breach nearing $4 million, enterprise organizations can’t afford to wait until they’ve already been attacked to start handling the situation.

3. Going Beyond Digital Signatures

Digital signatures act as a fingerprint that identifies a digital threat; however, the rise of advanced persistent threats and zero-day attacks show that attackers are far too sophisticated to make the same mistakes twice.

According to a quote that appeared in National Cyber Security from Allen Harper, Chief Hacker at Tangible Security, “The cyber thug has worked to locate IP addresses and ports that appear to have the servers and services he can benefit from attacking.

He has worked to develop specific tools and approaches that routinely prove effective at breaking in and stealing data.”

Deceptive technology turns the tables on the attackers behind the attack, not only by exposing them, but also by ensuring that their strengths become weaknesses.

4. Simplifying the Solution Stack

It’s hard to deny that networking equipment and software is growing more complicated. With the rise of software-defined networking, IT departments must deploy more in-band security appliances (firewalls and intrusion detection systems) to ensure protection.

However, these appliances often fail to keep attackers out, and can also interfere with network performance. Decision-makers must understand that deceptive technology eliminates this issue, seeing as deceptive lures are transparent to users and security staff, and only used by the attacker. 

By removing interaction with the security measure, this can help free up some valuable network resources.

Why Deceptive Technology, and Why Now?

The value of the cyber security market is expected to reach $170.21 billion by 2020. Yet, all of this spending is worthless if attackers still enjoy free rein over enterprise networks.

In the US alone, companies experience an annual loss of $525 million due to cyber crime. It’s clear that current cyber security methods aren’t working as well as companies might hope, and that a new approach is necessary.

Deceptive technology is an innovative “overlay” approach to cyber security that can change the way many organizations work to prevent data breaches, malicious code, and denial-of-service attacks.

Consider two major targets of cyber crime – credit card databases and intellectual property in file servers. It appears as if there’s a new data breach or cyber crime story in the headlines every few months – with companies such as Target and JP Morgan Chase proving to be just as vulnerable as anyone else.

With deceptive technology in place, any organization can force attackers into a world of unreliable data that renders attacks useless.

With real time forensics and reliable alerts, companies can start to understand the intentions of individual attackers and learn how to be more prepared in the future.

As high profile attacks continue to hit the news, it’s becoming more crucial than ever to consider a creative cyber security strategy, and deceptive technology is a game-change that can make organizations of all sizes more proactive, leading to cost savings and overall greater protection.