IP Threat Report
72.146.20.230
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 105/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 107/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 109/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 111/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 113/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 115/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 117/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 118/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 121/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 125/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 144/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 150/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 164/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 166/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 168/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 171/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 18/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 21/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 21/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 27/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 28/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 28/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 32/2s | 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 37/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 38/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 42/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 44/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 46/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 47/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 49/2s | 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 57/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 88/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 99/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Danger medium hits: 102 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 110 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 111 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 137 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 14 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 2 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +20 | |
| Danger medium hits: 201 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 21 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 212 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 214 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 281 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 318 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 323 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 380 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 424 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 491 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 518 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 548 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger strong hits: 102 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 153 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 170 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 18 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 2 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +50 | |
| Danger strong hits: 24 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 3 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +75 | |
| Danger strong hits: 34 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 35 | 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: 58 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 71 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 82 | 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 72.146.20.230 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
🔎 Path Enumeration Protection
Block scanning from 72.146.20.230: rate-limit 404 responses per IP, deploy a honeypot 404 page, ensure no backup files are web-accessible.
🌊 Traffic Flood Defense
IP 72.146.20.230 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 72.146.20.230: 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
72.146.20.230 has been assigned a threat score of 280/100 (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 72.146.20.230, located in Milan, Italy, operating on the network of BellSouth.net Inc., has been classified as malicious by our automated threat scoring engine. The address has been active for 8 days in our monitoring system, producing 3,202 flagged requests at a rate of ~400.3/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. 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.
💡 Subnet-Level vs IP-Level Blocking
When multiple IPs in a subnet show malicious behavior, subnet blocking efficiently neutralizes the threat. However, overly broad blocking risks impacting legitimate users. Analysis of subnet ownership and historical behavior guides appropriate blocking scope.