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Honeynet Project Researchers Build Publicly Available ICS Honeynet

Posted by Unknown on from the simulated-centrifuge dept.

msm1267 writes "Conpot, short for Control Honeypot, is one of the first publicly available honeypots for industrial control systems (ICS) and SCADA gear. Built by two researchers from the Honeynet Project, the hope is that others will take what they started, deploy it on their own critical infrastructure networks and share the findings. 'The main goal is to make this kind of technology available for a general audience,' said Lukas Rist, one of the developers. 'Not just for security researchers, but also for people who are sysadmins setting up ICS systems who have no clue what could happen and want to see malware attacks against their systems and not put them in any danger.'" Unlike previous ICS Honeypots, this one simulates the control systems rather than requiring that you happen to own an actual industrial control system.

18 comments

  1. catch22 by Pedestrianwolf · · Score: 2

    Seems like a bit of a catch 22... on one hand the people that own these systems need a reliable and safe way to understand and hopefully mitigate threats... on the other hand, it wasn't too long ago people were bemoaning flight simulators as "terrorism trainers".

    1. Re:catch22 by TheCarp · · Score: 1

      > on the other hand, it wasn't too long ago people were bemoaning flight simulators as "terrorism trainers".

      Really? People were were they? Anyone doing that has less of a grip on reality than the people who think they are personally Napoleon. I don't see why their opinion needs much consideration. May as well just say "on the other hand, some people are crazy and stupid".

      --
      "I opened my eyes, and everything went dark again"
    2. Re:catch22 by L4t3r4lu5 · · Score: 1

      I don't see why their opinion needs much consideration.

      It's good for those who take our security seriously^W^W^W^Whave a vested financial interest to drum up some good ol' Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt. Nothing fills the coffers like a scared populace.

      --
      Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
    3. Re:catch22 by Dishevel · · Score: 2

      Your liberal roots are showing.
      Politicians are for the most part "FOR" what will get them elected.
      Being an idiot about wanting to restrict stuff is not a conservative only area of expertise.

      Gun control ????

      or ... Even better.

      Anyone here remember Tipper Gore?
       

      --
      Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
    4. Re:catch22 by interval1066 · · Score: 1

      ...conservatives anywhere say some really dumb shit sometimes.

      Yeah really, they should take a queue from the golden wisdom that liberals say all the time.

      --
      Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
    5. Re:catch22 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those people with "less of a grip on reality" are unfortunately the ones throwing everyone in prison. After all the FBI put out a notice that if you hear you neighbor talking about VPNs or encryption report them to the local authorities immediately because they are terrorists. Lucky for me our local authorities barely look into missing persons cases let alone trivial things.

  2. honeypot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why create honeypots if we have Honeywell?

  3. ICS ? Ice Cream Sandwich ? by lfourrier · · Score: 1

    It's so old school.

    1. Re:ICS ? Ice Cream Sandwich ? by fufufang · · Score: 2

      It's so old school.

      I think Industrial Control System came before Ice Cream Sandwich...

    2. Re:ICS ? Ice Cream Sandwich ? by lfourrier · · Score: 1

      agreed. Just a reaction to the title of the post, in those days of Google I/O

    3. Re:ICS ? Ice Cream Sandwich ? by rossdee · · Score: 1

      You'd think a Honeypot would be for Honeycomb (which was the previous version.

    4. Re:ICS ? Ice Cream Sandwich ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know about that. According to Wikipedia ice cream sandwiches have been around since at least 1905, that probably pre-dates any industrial control systems.

  4. Only in AMERICA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    " just for security researchers, but also for people who are sysadmins setting up ICS systems who have no clue what could happen " ... only in America.

    1. Re:Only in AMERICA by Dishevel · · Score: 1

      To be fair.

      As a sysadmin for a mid sized company looking to get a proprietary ICS from a major powerhouse ...
      Are they going to give you access to the source? If not, How exactly are you supposed to know the weaknesses of the system without some real hardcore testing?
      Read the literature and take their word for it?

      Oh. You just want to be cool and say something anti American. Go on then.

      --
      Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
  5. Time to invest in virtualization players by atom1c · · Score: 1

    With a software-based ICS simulation, plus the software-based infrastructure within which such simulations must reside, this becomes a GREAT time to invest into virtualization players across the board: hardware, software, security, etc.

    For infrastructure security, this is absolutely great news! The tallest barrier to entry for non-professional security researchers is access to both facilities and simulated energy consumption devices... I wonder if these guys will make this available as a VM appliance...

    1. Re:Time to invest in virtualization players by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The download of the VM would take more time than installing and running the tool.