Which term describes segments of unused network space that are monitored to detect unauthorized traffic?

• A. Sandboxes
• B. Darknets
• C. Honeypots
• D. DNS sinkholes

Answer: (B)

Darknets are segments of IP address space that are allocated in routing tables but not assigned to any active hosts. Because no legitimate devices should be communicating there, any traffic seen on these spaces is a red flag indicating probing, misconfigurations, or malicious activity. Monitoring these unused addresses allows security teams to detect unauthorized traffic without interfering with production systems, making it a passive early-warning method.

Honeypots, by contrast, are actual decoy systems designed to attract attackers and observe their behavior; sandboxes isolate and analyze code in a controlled environment; DNS sinkholes redirect or block malicious domain requests for analysis or blocking. These serve different purposes than monitoring unused address space for unauthorized activity.