{
  "id": 19152224,
  "title": "The economics of honeypots",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/the-economics-of-honeypots",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-09T11:35:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Marginal Revolution",
    "slug": "marginal-revolution",
    "url": "https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/11/the-economics-of-honeypots.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the economics of honeypots, the scarcity of skilled women willing to engage in espionage is a key factor, according to an economist's perspective. The returns to honeypotting are reportedly very high for certain parties, possibly including China, short-sellers, or elements within the Deep State. The limited number of attractive, trained women available for this role is one hypothesis, as is the fact that the spy agency must place trust in these women to some extent. Other possibilities include the difficulty in accessing prominent men for honeypot arrangements, the time constraints faced by the women involved, and strong competition from non-honeypot temptresses. Some prominent men have chosen to avoid honeypot arrangements altogether, opting for a \"hostage-taking\" approach that proved to be risky.",
  "summary": "Of course as an economist I am always wondering what the equilibrium is. And, in this case, what is the scarce factor? It seems that in the case under current consideration, the returns to honeypotting are very high for somebody. Maybe for China, maybe for the shorts, or maybe for parts of the Deep State […] The post The economics of honeypots appeared first on Marginal REVOLUTION .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}