IP Threat Report
20.203.168.197
ABUSE.MOM — BEHAVE OR GET EXPOSED
Geolocation & Classification
Detection Signatures
| Signature | Description | Points | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 404 ratio >= 60% | Majority of requests returned 404 — enumeration | +25 | |
| Burst 159/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 39/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 39/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 43/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 51/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 53/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 54/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 55/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 59/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 60/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 61/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 62/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 63/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 64/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 65/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 67/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 85/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Danger medium hits: 142 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 154 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 213 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 225 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 296 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 33 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 71 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger strong hits: 10 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 18 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 28 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 36 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 46 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 54 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 7 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 |
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 20.203.168.197 is blocked at application level (HTTP 403)
- Consider blocking at firewall level (iptables/CSF) to reduce server load
- Other malicious IPs detected in the same /24 subnet — consider blocking 20.203.168.0/24
- 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 20.203.168.197 is enumerating directories. Configure fail2ban apache-404 jail after 10+ 404 errors. Disable directory listings. Normalize all 404 responses.
🌊 Flood / DDoS Mitigation
Implement limit_req_zone in nginx. Deploy CDN with DDoS protection. Configure SYN cookies and connection tracking to throttle 20.203.168.197.
Neighbors in 20.203.168.0/24
Other blocked IPs from the same /24 subnet — indicates systematic abuse from this network range.
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
20.203.168.197 has been assigned a threat score of 255/100 (Critical). This places it in the critical threat category. Immediate blocking is strongly advised across all network perimeters.
The following attack categories were identified:
📊 Threat Analysis
Network traffic from 20.203.168.197, located in Zurich, Switzerland, operating on the network of Microsoft Corporation, has been classified as malicious by our automated threat scoring engine. Over a period of 5 days, this IP generated 6,542 malicious requests, averaging approximately 1308.4 requests per day. Operating from datacenter infrastructure, this IP is typical of addresses used in organized attack operations. Cloud and VPS providers are commonly exploited as launching platforms for automated scanning. Two attack patterns were identified (Path Enumeration and Request Flooding), suggesting a semi-automated campaign that targets multiple vulnerabilities. Switzerland currently accounts for 102 blocked IPs in our database, making it a significant source of malicious traffic. With a threat score of 255/100, this IP is among the most dangerous addresses in our database. Immediate and complete blocking is strongly recommended.
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
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💡 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.
💡 Supply Chain Security Challenges
Attacks targeting software supply chains compromise trusted update mechanisms to distribute malware at scale. Dependency confusion, typosquatting in package registries, and compromised build pipelines threaten even organizations with strong direct security postures.