IP Threat Report
20.197.178.120
ABUSE.MOM — BEHAVE OR GET EXPOSED
Geolocation & Classification
Detection Signatures
| Signature | Description | Points | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 404 ratio 40-60% | Majority of requests returned 404 — enumeration | +15 | |
| 404 ratio >= 60% | Majority of requests returned 404 — enumeration | +25 | |
| Burst 13/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 14/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 43/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 44/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 45/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 46/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 47/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 48/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 49/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 50/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Danger medium hits: 1 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +10 | |
| Danger medium hits: 141 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 147 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 201 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 233 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 235 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 245 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 249 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 294 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 438 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 441 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 444 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 552 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 610 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 616 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 64 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 670 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 882 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 926 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger strong hits: 1 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +25 | |
| Danger strong hits: 16 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 2 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +50 | |
| Danger strong hits: 26 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 3 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +75 | |
| Danger strong hits: 30 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 36 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 4 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 48 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 6 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 72 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 8 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 84 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Probe 302→404 | Behavioral anomaly detected by automated analysis | +20 | |
| UA suspicious | Behavioral anomaly detected by automated analysis | +15 |
Observed Activity
Reconstructed HTTP requests from server access logs. Target domains redacted for security.
* Typical request patterns for detected signatures. Actual target domains are redacted.
Timeline
Network Provider
Recommendations
Actions taken & recommended
- IP 20.197.178.120 is blocked at application level (HTTP 403)
- Consider blocking at firewall level (iptables/CSF) to reduce server load
- Report abuse to the network provider via their abuse contact
- Ensure sensitive files (.env, .git, backups) are not accessible from the web
🔎 Directory Scan Defense
IP 20.197.178.120 is enumerating directories. Configure fail2ban apache-404 jail after 10+ 404 errors. Disable directory listings. Normalize all 404 responses.
🌊 Traffic Flood Defense
IP 20.197.178.120 is generating excessive traffic. Limit connections per source IP. Enable geographic blocking if traffic from this region is unexpected.
🤖 Bot Detection
Address UA spoofing from 20.197.178.120: maintain blocklist of known malicious UA strings, require consistent UA across sessions, implement TLS fingerprinting.
Blacklist Status (DNSBL)
This IP was checked against major DNS-based blacklists used by mail servers and firewalls worldwide.
Checked: Spamhaus, SpamCop, Barracuda, SORBS, CBL, UCEProtect. Results may change over time.
Threat Analysis
20.197.178.120 has been assigned a threat score of 280/100 (Critical). A score this high marks a critical threat actor. This address has demonstrated persistent, aggressive malicious behavior across multiple detection vectors.
The following attack categories were identified:
📊 Threat Analysis
20.197.178.120 is registered in São Paulo, Brazil, operating on the network of Microsoft Corporation. This IP first appeared in our threat feeds after triggering multiple behavioral detection signatures. Over a period of 5 days, this IP generated 2,491 malicious requests, averaging approximately 498.2 requests per day. The IP is classified as hosting/datacenter infrastructure, commonly associated with rented servers used for automated attack campaigns, botnet command-and-control, or vulnerability scanning at scale. The combination of 3 distinct attack vectors indicates a sophisticated, multi-pronged threat actor deploying automated tools that probe multiple attack surfaces simultaneously. With 13 flagged addresses, Brazil represents a notable presence in our threat database. A score of 280/100 places this address in the top tier of severity. Block and investigate any historical connections.
This IP belongs to a hosting or data center provider. Malicious traffic from hosting infrastructure often originates from compromised VPS instances, rented servers used for scanning campaigns, or abused free-tier cloud accounts. Hosting providers typically respond to abuse reports within 24-72 hours.
Related Threats
Security Intelligence
💡 DDoS Mitigation Approaches
Distributed denial of service attacks overwhelm infrastructure with traffic volume. Effective mitigation combines always-on traffic scrubbing, anycast network distribution, rate limiting, and the ability to quickly scale absorption capacity during attacks.
💡 Credential Stuffing at Scale
Credential stuffing uses stolen username-password pairs from data breaches to attempt logins across many websites. Since users frequently reuse passwords, these automated attacks achieve success rates of 0.1-2%, which translates to thousands of compromised accounts from millions of attempts.