Which deception strategy returns spoofed data in response to network probes?

Which deception strategy returns spoofed data in response to network probes?

• A. Platform diversity
• B. Honeypots
• C. clustering
• D. fake telemetry

Answer: (D)

Fake telemetry is a deception technique that works by returning spoofed or false data as if it were real monitoring information about the system. By feeding attackers misleading metrics—such as fake load, uptime, software versions, or network topology—the defender disrupts reconnaissance and decision-making, making it harder for the attacker to understand the true environment and plan an exploit. The goal is to create uncertainty and waste the attacker’s time while potentially triggering alerts or defensive actions based on the suspicious data. This is different from honeypots, which are decoy systems designed to lure and study attacker behavior, or from platform diversity and clustering, which focus on varying environments or organizing assets rather than feeding back false data.

Fake telemetry is a deception technique that works by returning spoofed or false data as if it were real monitoring information about the system. By feeding attackers misleading metrics—such as fake load, uptime, software versions, or network topology—the defender disrupts reconnaissance and decision-making, making it harder for the attacker to understand the true environment and plan an exploit. The goal is to create uncertainty and waste the attacker’s time while potentially triggering alerts or defensive actions based on the suspicious data. This is different from honeypots, which are decoy systems designed to lure and study attacker behavior, or from platform diversity and clustering, which focus on varying environments or organizing assets rather than feeding back false data.