CISA Releases Guidance on Cyber Decoy Strategies for Critical Infrastructure

• •CISA released guidance on cyber decoy strategies for critical infrastructure.
• •The guidance aims to improve detection and response to advanced cyber threats.
• •Cyber decoys complement Zero Trust models by enhancing monitoring and alerting.

On September 16, 2026, CISA published guidance to assist critical infrastructure organizations in implementing cyber decoy systems to enhance their detection and response capabilities against cyber threats. The guidance addresses challenges faced by organizations in detecting adversaries who utilize legitimate credentials and native tools for lateral movement and data access. By integrating cyber decoys, organizations can detect intrusions earlier, gather intelligence on adversary behavior, and reduce the mean time to detection. The guidance emphasizes the importance of combining cyber decoys with Zero Trust models, promoting proactive defense strategies. Key components include tripwires, breadcrumbs, and honeytokens, with practical steps outlined using the MITRE ATT&CK and MITRE Engage frameworks. CISA encourages all defensive teams, regardless of their cybersecurity maturity, to adopt these strategies to bolster their defenses against sophisticated attacks.