Abstract

In 2021, the impact of commercial losses from cybercrime was estimated around $6 trillion. Preventing and tracking cybercrime in real time has been a struggle for businesses and individuals. Ouroboros was created to assist in monitoring networks and improving cybersecurity by leveraging honeypot technology to actively detect intruders and understand their strategies. Ouroboros is a low interaction honeypot utilizing Python’s socket servers that listens for all incoming TCP connections. Once a connection is made to the honeypot, the device accepts the connection and logs information on the receiver, sender, and type of connection. These logs are then parsed by Splunk and visualized through a dashboard. Critical events will alert a network administrator of the breach through e-mail and SMS. Ouroboros functions as an early detection mechanism, limiting the impact of a breached network and minimizing financial loss.