In cybersecurity, what is a honeypot?

A honeypot is a decoy system intentionally set up to attract cyber attackers, allowing security professionals to observe their tactics and techniques. By acting as a legitimate target, a honeypot captures malicious activities that can be analyzed to gain insights into attack patterns, vulnerabilities, and potential threats to real systems. This information is critical for improving security measures and developing better defenses against actual attacks.

The strategies used by attackers in interacting with the honeypot can provide valuable data, which can be used to strengthen overall cybersecurity posture. It serves as an experimental platform to gather intelligence about various types of cyber threats, such as malware behavior, phishing techniques, and network intrusions.

In contrast, the other options do not accurately define what a honeypot is and serve different purposes within cybersecurity. For example, analyzing traffic data does not involve luring attackers, and backup storage solutions or secure servers are designed primarily for protecting data rather than studying malicious behavior.