A Survey of Honeypot Research: Trends and Opportunities

The number of devices connected to computer networks is increasing daily, and so is the number of network-based attacks. A honeypot is a system trap that is set to act against unauthorised use of information systems. The objective of this study was to survey the emergent trends in extant honeypot research with the aims of contributing to the knowledge gaps in the honeypot environment. The relevant literature was identified from a myriad of sources, such as books, journal articles, reports, et cetera. The findings suggest that honeypots are attracting the interest of researchers as a valuable security technique that can be implemented to mitigate network attacks and provides an opportunity to learn more about the nature of these attacks. Consequently a honeypot can be used as a research tool to gather data about network attacks.