Cyberattacks—especially those involving Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)—are increasingly stealthy, sophisticated, and persistent, posing serious risks to global cybersecurity and national safety. Traditional defense mechanisms, often designed to block system breaches, struggle to keep pace with such adaptive threats.

This open access book responds to these challenges by introducing a novel defensive paradigm: Safeguard Defense Mode (SDM). Developed through years of operational experience and cybersecurity drills, SDM is implemented via the Four-Honey System based on Software-Defined Deception Defense (H4SD3). This framework emphasizes early-stage APT detection, particularly during the reconnaissance phase, and shifts cybersecurity strategy from passive response to proactive guardianship.

Key components of this book include:

• Honeypoint: Lightweight threat detection using network and system tripwires

• Honeyproxy: Traffic monitoring and anomaly detection gateway

• Honeytrace: Attacker tracking and deterrence device

• Honeycenter: Centralized decision and control hub

• Software-Defined Deceptive Defense: A new concept for countering advanced threats

• Deployment Cases: Insights from major events such as the Winter Olympics 2022, Asian Games 2023, Asian Winter Games 2025, and the Canton Fair (2016–2025)

Designed for engineers, managers, researchers, and students in cybersecurity, this book presents technical solutions in an accessible format, using examples and metaphors to clarify complex ideas. While no prior expertise is required, a basic understanding of cybersecurity will enhance the reading experience.

Zhihong Tian, Vice President of Guangzhou University, Professor, and Doctoral Supervisor. He is a Distinguished Professor under the National Talent Program and a Guangdong Province Universities and Colleges Pearl River Scholar, as well as the chief scientist of national key research and Development plan of China. He is also a part-time Professor with Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada. Previously, he was in different academic and administrative positions at Harbin Institute of Technology. He has authored over 200 journal and conference papers in these areas. His research interests include computer networks and cyberspace security. His research has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the National Key Research and Development Plan of China, the National High-Tech Research and Development Program of China (863 Program), and the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program). He also served as a member, the chair, and the general chair for a number of international conferences. He is a IEEE Senior Member and CCF Distinguished Member.

Yuan Liu, Professor of Guangzhou University, and Doctoral Supervisor. She received the B.Sc. degree from the Honor School, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China, in 2010, and the Ph.D. degree from the School of Computer Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, in 2014. She is currently a Full Professor with the Cyberspace Institute of Advanced Technology, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. She was an Associate Professor with Northeastern University, Shenyang, China, from 2015 to 2022. From 2014 to 2015, she worked as a Research Fellow with the Joint NTU-UBC Research Center of Excellence in Active Living for the Elderly (LILY), NTU. Her research interests include incentive mechanism design, federated learning, trust management, blockchain consensus protocols, blockchain-powered artificial intelligence, and threat intelligence system. She serves as Associate Editor of IEEE Transactions on Services Computing and IEEE Transactions on Service Management, IEEE Senior Member and CCF Distinguished Member.

Binxing Fan, Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering. He received the MS degree in computer science and technology from Tsinghua University, Beijing, in 1984, and the PhD degree in computer science and technology from the Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, in 1989. His current research interests include computer networks, information and network security, and artificial intelligence security.