What is a “honeypot” in the context of cybersecurity? The term first appeared in the 1980’s and 1990’s, when it was used to describe precisely that—a honey trap that lured in unsuspecting hackers, putting them on the backfoot. Clifford Stoll’s 1989 book The Cuckoo’s Egg is the first official documentation of a honeypot in the cyber world. Stoll tells the story of using what he called a “honeypot” to find a German hacker who had infiltrated U.S. military computers. Now the term is used in cybersecurity as a method of documenting hackers’ behavioral patterns by trapping them into a system they thought was unprotected.
Fast forward to 2025, and honeypots have become a recognized, important tool in the cybersecurity toolbox. In the future, honeypots will require a strategic approach that balances innovation, security, and operational efficiency.
According to Cyber News, VPS (Virtual Private Server) honeypots—“traps deployed on virtual private servers”—are emerging as one of the smartest tools in the cybersecurity arsenal. Organizations are using these honeypots to observe and analyze attackers in real time, without risking their critical infrastructure.
“Isolation” looks to be the primary advantage of these VPS honeypots, as they would be fully disconnected from real infrastructure. This makes it unlikely that an attacker would break out and compromise the system, assuming it remains isolated from the operational network.
Even VPS honeypots do not come without risks, however. Cyber News lists some of the challenges:
Historically, the other significant problem with honeypots has been the financial cost and use of resources. Medium reports that “Setting up and maintaining honeypots can be expensive and time consuming.” Companies and organizations must determine if the risk of deploying, monitoring and analyzing data from a honeypot is worthwhile. Honey pots can be more of a long-term investment, and they can also be the cause of false alarms, sending resources to harmless situations and siphoning them away from real, credible threats.
Another major concern, as noted by Tech Target, is “limited data,” because honeypots are only able to collect information during an attack. In other words, if it’s not activated, if nobody falls into the trap, nothing can be learned, and no data can be collected.
But there remains a growing need to find novel ways to manage attacks because cybersecurity attacks are not decreasing. On the contrary, they are escalating at a rapid rate. Since the pandemic, according to 2024 research from the International Monetary Fund, cyberattacks have more than doubled, which translates into financial losses that have quadrupled since 2017 to $2.5 billion.
According to Verified Markets, the market size for honeypots in 2024 was forecast at $2.4 billion and is expected to reach $7.5 billion by 2033, showing an annual compound growth rate (CAGR) of 14.0% from 2026 to 2033.
One of the reasons for this predicted future growth is that despite the drawbacks, there are some clear advantages to honeypots; and VPS honeypots and AI in tandem might pave the way to a brighter future for honeypots. If you can overcome some of the previously mentioned issues, there are notable upsides to honeypots.
Some of the benefits are obvious. Honeypots can detect attack attempts before they become operational or effective in real systems. Early detection is crucial for organizations to act swiftly and stop breaches before they happen, essentially halting cybercriminals in the act. Additionally, according to Medium, understanding attacker behavior by deploying a honeypot means a more comprehensive understanding of hackers’ “methods, tools and tactics.” This loops back to the importance of early detection and “improving overall security measures.” Other valuable uses: Honeypots “help uncover system vulnerabilities that might otherwise go unnoticed” as the cybercriminals have been lured into thinking that the environment is safe. Finally, honeypots serve as training tools for cybersecurity professionals, offering real-time training to improve and develop skills.
An additional consideration regarding honeypots is the rising role of AI in every aspect of cybersecurity. Cyber Security Tribe recently reported that we are on the “cusp of a new era in cybersecurity.” An AI-generated honeypot could be more dynamic and fluid, able to learn and adapt to threats in real time. Honeypots run by AI would then become “indispensable tools in the defense arsenal of organizations worldwide” with the usual caveats related to the use of AI. AI may promise an evolution in the creation of honeypots; instead of static decoys, they could be equipped to create more environments of sophisticated deception. In the not-too-distant future, it’s predicted that honeypots may “dynamically adjust their environment, services, and logs to match evolving attack patterns, making it difficult for attackers to identify the decoy.” So, while honeytraps will continue to lure in malicious actors, the shape and scope of the trap may change.
CYRIN is coming out soon with our first AI lab, based on our expertise in neural networks. It will be the first of many advanced exercises we will introduce in 2025 and 2026. At our core we remain committed to providing the most advanced research and development into training, whether operating in conjunction with AI or trying to thwart AI-enabled threat actors.
We’ll continue to work with our industry partners to address major challenges and set up realistic scenarios that allow them to train their teams and prepare new hires for the threats they will face. Government agencies have been using CYRIN for years, training their front-line specialists on the real threats faced on their ever-expanding risk surface.
For educators, we consistently work with colleges and universities both large and small to create realistic training to meet the environment students will encounter when they graduate and enter the workforce. In an increasingly digitized world, training and experiential training are critical. Unless you get the “hands-on” feel for the tools and attacks and train on incident response in real world scenarios, you just won’t be prepared for when the inevitable happens. A full-blown cyberattack is not something you can prepare for after it hits.
The best time to plan and prepare is before the attack. Our training platform teaches fundamental solutions that integrate actual cyber tools from CYRIN’s labs that allow you to practice 24/7, in the cloud, no special software required. Our new programs, including Digital Twins, can create real-world conditions for you to practice before you must act. Cyber is a team effort; to see what our team can do for you take a look at our course catalog, or better yet, contact us for further information and your personalized demonstration of CYRIN. Take a test drive and see for yourself!