diff --git a/monkey/infection_monkey/control.py b/monkey/infection_monkey/control.py
index 7322322e7..98ad55671 100644
--- a/monkey/infection_monkey/control.py
+++ b/monkey/infection_monkey/control.py
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@ requests.packages.urllib3.disable_warnings()
 
 LOG = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 DOWNLOAD_CHUNK = 1024
+# random number greater than 5,
+# to prevent the monkey from just waiting forever to try and connect to an island before going elsewhere.
+TIMEOUT = 15
 
 
 class ControlClient(object):
@@ -72,7 +75,8 @@ class ControlClient(object):
                 LOG.debug(debug_message)
                 requests.get("https://%s/api?action=is-up" % (server,),
                              verify=False,
-                             proxies=ControlClient.proxies)
+                             proxies=ControlClient.proxies,
+                             timeout=TIMEOUT)
                 WormConfiguration.current_server = current_server
                 break