VME4012 Forensic Beekeeping Course Notes
VME4012 Forensic Beekeeping Course Notes
a lot of people ask why did I go to veterinarian school to become a beekeeper, and quite
honestly, I don't really know, but I always tell them something that I think they might
understand like “the animal kingdom is magical”
usually that shuts them up and they walk away
but in spite of being a trained beekeeper, I frequently hear people saying “make sure to avoid
the local honeypots!”
or “when you are traveling and stop into a foreign bar, make sure to avoid the honeypot!”
and of course this leaves me conflicted
it is my job to routinely sample the honeypot
I mean growing up in the south, we have some really thick local honey
just jugs and jugs of local thick viscous honey; heaping handfuls of just the most beautiful
honey you could ever imagine
am I supposed to say no when that stuff is all over the place and even sold just outside your
local Publix or Aldi?
So anyways, what's a beekeeper to do?
In the realm of cybersecurity, a honeypot refers to a deceptive computer system or network designed to
attract and monitor malicious activity. Essentially, it's a trap set up by cybersecurity professionals to
gather information about hackers, their techniques, and the types of malware they deploy.
There are two main types of honeypots:
1. Research honeypots: These are used primarily by cybersecurity researchers and organizations
to study the behavior of attackers, understand new threats, and develop better security measures.
2. Production honeypots: These are deployed within an organization's network to detect and
deflect unauthorized access attempts. They serve as an early warning system, alerting
administrators to potential security breaches.
Honeypots are often designed to mimic real systems and services, making them appear attractive
targets for attackers. By monitoring the interactions with these systems, cybersecurity professionals can
gather valuable intelligence that helps in enhancing security defenses and mitigating threats.
human honeypot" can also refer to a person, often an attractive or seductive individual, who is
employed to entice others into compromising situations or to extract information from them. This term
is more commonly used in espionage or intelligence gathering rather than in cybersecurity. These
individuals may be used to gather information from targets, gain access to secure locations, or extract
sensitive information through social engineering tactics.