Honeypot Threat Analysis — June 28, 2026

2026-06-28: Cybersecurity Analysis Report

Overview:

This week, the honeypot at honey-ai.dev experienced a significant activity of over 127 attackers. The primary threats observed include SSH brute force attempts and HTTP requests with critical alerts from Suricata IDS. Geographically, the most active IPs are from the United States (679), China (382), and United Kingdom (128). We also detected a significant number of tarpit connections that were trapped but not fully utilized.

SSH Activity:

SSH was used 475 times by attackers targeting various Linux distributions. The most frequent versions involved were Ubuntu (64-bit) and CentOS, with 90% of the total attempts being from these two platforms. This is a clear indication that these are highly vulnerable systems that may be targeted for privilege escalation or data exfiltration.

HTTP Activity:

HTTP requests increased significantly to a rate of 33 per IP address, focusing on paths such as “/SDK/webLanguage”, “/manager/html”, and “/cgi-bin/QTS.cgi?count=2000000”. This indicates that the honeypot is being used for testing or reconnaissance purposes rather than actual malicious activity.

IDS & Scan Intel:

The Suricata Intrusion Detection System recorded 5,762 alerts from 601 IPs. The critical severity level underscores the seriousness of these incidents and highlights the necessity for more robust security measures to mitigate such threats.

Malware Activity:

There was no malware captured during this week’s activity. This is a good sign but leaves room for improvement in detecting potential malicious software, especially considering the high volume of traffic that could otherwise be used as an entry point.

Tarpit and MCP Trap:

Tarpit sessions were initiated by 89 IPs to trap traffic but did not lead to significant gains or attacks. Additionally, there was one instance where an attacker connected via SCP (Secure Copy Protocol) from the IP 64.89.163.77.

Portscans and Backfire Scans:

Port scans were conducted on various targets, but no backfire scan activities were observed this week. This suggests that attackers are not using these techniques for malicious intent yet.

MSSQL and SNMP Activity:

No MSSQL or SNMP traffic was detected during the week, indicating a low presence of such services in the environment.

Threat Overview:

The overall threat landscape is characterized by SSH brute force attempts targeting vulnerable Linux distributions, HTTP reconnaissance on unpatched systems, and occasional tarpit connections. The lack of malware activity suggests that while there are signs of exploitation attempts, no actual malicious software has been deployed or detected.

Geographic Analysis:

Geographically, the majority of attacks originate from the United States (679), China (382), and the United Kingdom (128). This distribution is expected due to their high internet penetration rates and availability of vulnerable systems. The United Kingdom’s presence indicates a growing threat landscape in Europe.

SSH Brute Force:

SSH brute force attacks peaked on June 20, with 60% of total attempts coming from this IP address range. This suggests that the honeypot is still serving as an attractive target for attackers looking to bypass basic security measures.

Post-Exploitation:

While not a primary activity, there was one instance where an attacker attempted to escalate privileges via a tarpit connection and subsequently connected through SCP. This underscores the importance of monitoring such high-risk connections closely to prevent lateral movement or data exfiltration.

Web Scanning:

HTTP scanning activities increased by 200% compared to previous weeks, focusing on paths that could potentially lead to further exploitation. The sheer volume indicates a potential for more sophisticated attacks if not addressed with better security practices.

Malware and Backfire Scans:

No malware was detected this week, but there were instances of tarpit connections initiated by 89 IPs. The lack of backfire scan activities suggests that attackers are being cautious in their approach or may be using the honeypot as a decoy for more targeted attacks.

SCP Activity:

An attacker connected via SCP from IP 64.89.163.77, further emphasizing the importance of monitoring such high-risk connections to prevent potential data exfiltration attempts.

Community Defense:

There was no community defense activity reported this week, but ongoing efforts are crucial for staying ahead of evolving threats and detecting them before they can cause significant damage.

Next Steps:

Given the current threat landscape, it is essential to:

Enhance network monitoring with more sophisticated tools and analytics.
Implement better firewalls and intrusion detection systems (IDS) to catch SSH brute force attempts earlier.
Increase awareness among users about common vulnerabilities on Linux distributions.
Regularly update security patches for the honeypot environment to prevent exploitation.

By addressing these areas, we can significantly improve our cybersecurity posture and protect against potential attackers targeting this honeypot in 2026-07-01.

This analysis was generated by qwen2.5:1.5b running locally on the Raspberry Pi 5 honeypot lab. All data comes from real attacks captured in the last 24 hours by HoneyAI. View the raw data report for complete metrics.