Deception May Be the Best Way to Catch Cybercriminals

Penny Crossman: Sept 14, 2015

Gotcha!

That is the goal behind an increasingly popular cybersecurity tactic in financial services that relies on deception to lure hackers into a fake network component, server or database to study their behavior and — ideally — to shut them down.

Large banks and credit unions are interested in the technology and are starting to use it, software vendors and other experts say.

“For banks and credit unions it makes sense to have … an early-stage heads-up that you have been hacked and can get your incident-response team going on it immediately,” said Stu Sjouwerman, founder and chief executive of the security-consulting firm KnowBe4.

Banks appreciate the technology as they are constantly under threat, said Tushar Kothari, the CEO of Attivo Networks, who says five of the top ten U.S. banks use his company’s software. “Most banks are now keen on beefing up security; if malware gets through the perimeter, they want to quarantine and neutralize that threat as soon as possible.”

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