IP Threat Report
20.203.221.142
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 | |
| Burst 104/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 114/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 119/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 125/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 128/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 129/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 132/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 137/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 140/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 141/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 158/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 31/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 35/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 36/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 41/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 42/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 43/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 44/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 45/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 46/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 51/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 52/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 57/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 59/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 79/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 84/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Danger medium hits: 1 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +10 | |
| Danger medium hits: 104 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 108 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 154 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 156 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 157 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 158 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 2 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +20 | |
| Danger medium hits: 204 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 218 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 67 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 84 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 85 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger strong hits: 1 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +25 | |
| Danger strong hits: 10 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 12 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 15 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 2 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +50 | |
| Danger strong hits: 3 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +75 | |
| Danger strong hits: 4 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 6 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 8 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 9 | 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 20.203.221.142 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 20.203.221.0/24
- 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 20.203.221.142 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 20.203.221.142.
🤖 Bot Detection
Address UA spoofing from 20.203.221.142: maintain blocklist of known malicious UA strings, require consistent UA across sessions, implement TLS fingerprinting.
Neighbors in 20.203.221.0/24
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
20.203.221.142 has been assigned a threat score of 280/100 (Critical). This is a critical-level threat. Systems administrators should treat this IP as hostile and block all inbound connections without exception.
The following attack categories were identified:
📊 Threat Analysis
Threat intelligence analysis has linked 20.203.221.142 to malicious activity originating from Zurich, Switzerland, operating on the network of Microsoft Corporation. The address has been under observation since its initial detection. During its 2-day observation window, we recorded 1,055 hostile requests from this IP — roughly 527.5 per day on average. 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 101 flagged addresses, Switzerland represents a significant presence in our threat database. At 280/100, this is an extremely high-risk address. All traffic should be considered hostile.
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.
💡 Cryptojacking Detection and Prevention
Cryptojacking hijacks computing resources to mine cryptocurrency without consent. Indicators include unusual CPU usage, specific network connections to mining pools, and JavaScript miners embedded in compromised websites. Server-side cryptojacking can persist undetected for months.