Israel’s Illusive Networks Ltd. Lays Hacker Traps

A Tel Aviv startup is banking on hackers’ greed and carelessness in its effort to defend computer networks.

Illusive Networks Ltd. plants false data in vulnerable parts of a company’s network. Once the hacker reaches for the fake information, he or she triggers an alarm that allows security officers to quarantine that section, identify the hacker’s profile and allow the rest of the business to operate without interference.

“We catch them with their pants down,” said the company’s Chief Executive Officer Shlomo Touboul. The tactic reduces to almost zero a thief’s chance of extracting information, he said.

Following high-profile hacks ...