Cyber deception, as a groundbreaking and transformative strategy in cyber defense, holds an unparalleled position in countering advanced and complex threats within the cyberspace. By designing deceptive and simulated environments, it prevents attackers from achieving their primary objectives while providing defenders with unique opportunities for monitoring, detecting, and neutralizing attacks. Beyond being a mere defensive tool, this technology serves as a strategic lever in safeguarding critical infrastructure and sensitive information, significantly increasing the operational costs for adversaries and elevating cyber deterrence to an unprecedented level.

This paper aims to present a comprehensive and in-depth conceptual framework by meticulously elucidating the foundational concepts of cyber deception and its structured taxonomy, while critically analyzing the lifecycle of this strategy. Existing methodologies proposed in the scientific literature are reviewed, and diverse classifications of techniques, tools, and deception architectures are provided. In this context, several leading platforms, recognized as effective tools for simulating vulnerable services and precisely logging malicious activities, are introduced. Furthermore, three practical implementations of deception technologies are proposed, with a detailed explanation of their technical and operational aspects.

Finally, by precisely identifying current needs and research gaps, future research directions are outlined, including the development of automated systems based on artificial intelligence and integration with modern security architectures. These directions aim to pave the way for a fundamental transformation in enhancing cybersecurity against emerging threats.