Game-Theoretic Foundations for the Strategic Use of Honeypots in Network Security

An important element in the mathematical and scientific foundations for security is modeling the strategic use of deception and information manipulation. We argue that game theory provides an important theoretical framework for reasoning about information manipulation in adversarial settings, including deception and randomization strategies. In addition, game theory has practical uses in determining optimal strategies for randomized patrolling and resource allocation. We discuss three game-theoretic models that capture aspects of how honeypots can be used in network security. Honeypots are fake hosts introduced into a network to gather information about attackers and to distract them from real targets. They are a limited resource, so there are important strategic questions about how to deploy them to the greatest effect, which is fundamentally about deceiving attackers into choosing fake targets instead of real ones to attack. We describe several game models that address strategies for deploying honeypots, including a basic honeypot selection game, an extension of this game that allows additional probing actions by the attacker, and finally a version in which attacker strategies are represented using attack graphs. We conclude with a discussion of the strengths and limitations of game theory in the context of network security.