Definition
A deliberately fake system or decoy that looks like a real target, planted to lure and study attackers — including AI-driven attackers. Security teams use decoys to expose probing, credential abuse and other tricks that normal controls miss. CISA now recommends adopting realistic decoys to protect critical infrastructure, and MITRE ATLAS added AI honeypots as a mitigation.
Why it matters
AI attackers act fast and behave like humans; decoys let defenders watch exactly what an AI attacker does against a safe fake target before it reaches real systems.