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HoneyTrap: Deceiving Large Language Model Attackers to Honeypot Traps with Resilient Multi-Agent Defense

Authors: Siyuan Li, Xi Lin, Jun Wu, Zehao Liu, Haoyu Li, Tianjie Ju, Xiang Chen, Jianhua Li

Published: 2026-01-07

arXiv ID: 2601.04034v1

Added to Library: 2026-01-08 03:01 UTC

Red Teaming

πŸ“„ Abstract

Jailbreak attacks pose significant threats to large language models (LLMs), enabling attackers to bypass safeguards. However, existing reactive defense approaches struggle to keep up with the rapidly evolving multi-turn jailbreaks, where attackers continuously deepen their attacks to exploit vulnerabilities. To address this critical challenge, we propose HoneyTrap, a novel deceptive LLM defense framework leveraging collaborative defenders to counter jailbreak attacks. It integrates four defensive agents, Threat Interceptor, Misdirection Controller, Forensic Tracker, and System Harmonizer, each performing a specialized security role and collaborating to complete a deceptive defense. To ensure a comprehensive evaluation, we introduce MTJ-Pro, a challenging multi-turn progressive jailbreak dataset that combines seven advanced jailbreak strategies designed to gradually deepen attack strategies across multi-turn attacks. Besides, we present two novel metrics: Mislead Success Rate (MSR) and Attack Resource Consumption (ARC), which provide more nuanced assessments of deceptive defense beyond conventional measures. Experimental results on GPT-4, GPT-3.5-turbo, Gemini-1.5-pro, and LLaMa-3.1 demonstrate that HoneyTrap achieves an average reduction of 68.77% in attack success rates compared to state-of-the-art baselines. Notably, even in a dedicated adaptive attacker setting with intensified conditions, HoneyTrap remains resilient, leveraging deceptive engagement to prolong interactions, significantly increasing the time and computational costs required for successful exploitation. Unlike simple rejection, HoneyTrap strategically wastes attacker resources without impacting benign queries, improving MSR and ARC by 118.11% and 149.16%, respectively.

πŸ” Key Points

  • The introduction of HoneyTrap, a multi-agent defense framework for large language models (LLMs), specifically designed to counter evolving multi-turn jailbreak attacks.
  • Development of the MTJ-Pro dataset, a benchmark for evaluating jailbreak strategies across multiple dialogue turns, enabling a standardized assessment of defense mechanisms.
  • Introduction of novel metrics, Mislead Success Rate (MSR) and Attack Resource Consumption (ARC), which provide deeper insights into the effectiveness of deceptive defenses beyond traditional success rate measures.
  • Experiments demonstrate that HoneyTrap reduces attack success rates by an average of 68.77% across various state-of-the-art LLM models, showing significant improvement in both defensive and operational capacities.
  • The system's architecture allows for adaptive defenses that engage and mislead attackers, extending the duration and costs associated with adversarial interactions.

πŸ’‘ Why This Paper Matters

This paper is crucial in the ongoing effort to secure large language models against adaptive adversarial tactics. By introducing a systematic, multi-agent approach coupled with thorough benchmarking and novel metrics, the research paves the way for practical implementations that can protect LLMs from increasingly sophisticated jailbreak attempts. It highlights the importance of resilience not just through rejection but through engagement, providing a roadmap for future research in AI safety and security.

🎯 Why It's Interesting for AI Security Researchers

The findings of this paper are particularly significant for AI security researchers, as they address the pressing issue of jailbreak attacksβ€”one of the most critical vulnerabilities in the deployment of LLMs. The multifaceted defense strategies presented open avenues for further exploration into proactive security measures, establishing a framework that may inspire ongoing research in adversarial robustness, dynamic defense mechanisms, and improved assessment standards in AI systems.

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