A mysterious botnet, identified by the user-agent string Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64), is aggressively scraping WordPress websites at an alarming rate, flagrantly disregarding the crawl delay directives set in the  robots.txt file. The botnet has been found to be causing significant server strain, bypassing web administrators' efforts to control access and protect their site resources. Despite the bot's user-agent string mimicking a legitimate Linux browser, its bad behavior is anything but lawful. Not only does it ignore robots.txt instructions, but it also carries out non-stop scraping activities that severely impact the performance and security of affected websites. The unregulated scraping can lead to slowed website loading times and increased bandwidth consumption. IP Addresses and ASN Sources Involved The IP addresses behind this botnet appear to originate from multiple autonomous system numbers (ASNs), primarily hosted by less-reputable service providers. The IPs exhibit coordinated behavior, systematically scraping WordPress websites with no regard for the implemented crawl-delay directives. The ASNs and their affiliated IP addresses are: ASN 13886 - Cloud-South


ASN 21769 - AS-COLOAM


ASN 263735 - Sociedad Buena Hosting, S.A.


ASN 52393 - Corporacion Dana S.A. 185.199.117.126
216.10.7.2
104.233.51.70
104.249.4.61
186.179.1.64
181.177.71.218
185.195.215.202
185.193.73.239
104.239.116.255
185.199.118.137
185.193.72.244
216.10.3.36
186.179.11.6
181.177.70.128
104.239.115.2
186.179.10.14
104.249.5.146
185.199.116.245
104.233.54.62
185.207.97.112
185.199.116.218
181.177.71.59
104.249.0.172
104.233.49.164
185.188.78.129
216.10.2.44
104.233.48.205
216.10.6.143
104.249.1.226
185.196.191.240
67.227.122.211
185.195.221.166
181.177.79.165
186.179.25.11
185.199.117.248
185.195.220.198
104.239.114.195
181.177.66.111
67.227.127.113
185.205.196.57
199.168.122.42
186.179.27.9
185.193.75.105
216.10.3.10
216.10.2.161
185.188.77.24
104.233.48.70
185.188.79.15
186.179.2.186
181.177.72.76
216.10.6.205
186.179.13.13
181.177.78.227
181.177.72.12
181.177.79.141
186.179.25.210
104.233.49.36
104.249.3.157
104.239.117.199
104.233.48.52
104.233.51.106
216.10.3.78
216.10.0.49
185.207.99.161
67.227.120.127
67.227.121.26
104.233.55.225
104.249.3.194
185.195.220.41
181.177.71.84
104.233.48.111
104.249.2.46
181.177.67.170
104.249.2.195
186.179.13.80
67.227.124.74
104.239.116.151
104.239.119.180
185.195.221.180
104.249.2.99
104.239.114.190
104.239.117.112
181.177.71.49
67.227.121.109
199.168.121.93
185.195.223.14
181.177.67.30
181.177.76.63
181.177.77.79
181.177.66.29
181.177.77.197
186.179.24.252
185.196.188.94
181.177.76.62
216.10.7.75
181.177.68.33
186.179.11.165
181.177.71.188
185.195.213.87
185.193.74.97
67.227.122.57
185.196.189.63
216.10.1.142
199.168.122.193
186.179.2.117
181.177.72.134
181.177.66.212
185.188.77.122
185.207.96.121
199.168.121.246
104.249.0.31
185.195.222.160 Potential Mitigation Strategies Web administrators are urged to monitor their logs for suspicious activity involving the Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) user-agent string and IPs associated with the above ASNs. Immediate actions to consider include: Blocking or rate-limiting the offending IPs through firewall rules.


Implementing CAPTCHA systems for suspicious traffic.


Using bot protection plugins or services such as Cloudflare to prevent excessive scraping. The persistence of this botnet highlights the importance of continually refining web security measures to protect digital assets from unauthorized data scraping and potential attacks. This unknown botnet's activity is a pressing issue for WordPress site owners, and if left unchecked, its presence could lead to server overloads, data leaks, or even downtime for many websites. Interestingly, despite the aggressive nature of this botnet, none of the associated IPs have been flagged or reported in popular databases like AbuseIPDB. Even more surprising, these IPs are not natively blocked by Cloudflare’s managed rules, which typically catch such malicious behavior early on. This suggests that the botnet is currently flying under the radar, operating in a gray zone of anonymity. The lack of detection and reporting raises concerns about how sophisticated and stealthy this botnet may be. For now, it seems to be an entirely unknown entity in the cybersecurity landscape. However, it does seem look like it is scraping WordPress content. A mysterious botnet, identified by the user-agent string Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) , is aggressively scraping WordPress websites at an alarming rate, flagrantly disregarding the crawl delay directives set in the  robots.txt file. The botnet has been found to be causing significant server strain, bypassing web administrators' efforts to control access and protect their site resources. Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) Despite the bot's user-agent string mimicking a legitimate Linux browser, its bad behavior is anything but lawful. Not only does it ignore robots.txt instructions, but it also carries out non-stop scraping activities that severely impact the performance and security of affected websites. The unregulated scraping can lead to slowed website loading times and increased bandwidth consumption. robots.txt IP Addresses and ASN Sources Involved The IP addresses behind this botnet appear to originate from multiple autonomous system numbers (ASNs), primarily hosted by less-reputable service providers. The IPs exhibit coordinated behavior, systematically scraping WordPress websites with no regard for the implemented crawl-delay directives. The ASNs and their affiliated IP addresses are: ASN 13886 - Cloud-South ASN 21769 - AS-COLOAM ASN 263735 - Sociedad Buena Hosting, S.A. ASN 52393 - Corporacion Dana S.A. ASN 13886 - Cloud-South ASN 13886 - Cloud-South ASN 13886 - Cloud-South ASN 21769 - AS-COLOAM ASN 21769 - AS-COLOAM ASN 21769 - AS-COLOAM ASN 263735 - Sociedad Buena Hosting, S.A. ASN 263735 - Sociedad Buena Hosting, S.A. ASN 263735 - Sociedad Buena Hosting, S.A. ASN 52393 - Corporacion Dana S.A. ASN 52393 - Corporacion Dana S.A. ASN 52393 - Corporacion Dana S.A. 185.199.117.126
216.10.7.2
104.233.51.70
104.249.4.61
186.179.1.64
181.177.71.218
185.195.215.202
185.193.73.239
104.239.116.255
185.199.118.137
185.193.72.244
216.10.3.36
186.179.11.6
181.177.70.128
104.239.115.2
186.179.10.14
104.249.5.146
185.199.116.245
104.233.54.62
185.207.97.112
185.199.116.218
181.177.71.59
104.249.0.172
104.233.49.164
185.188.78.129
216.10.2.44
104.233.48.205
216.10.6.143
104.249.1.226
185.196.191.240
67.227.122.211
185.195.221.166
181.177.79.165
186.179.25.11
185.199.117.248
185.195.220.198
104.239.114.195
181.177.66.111
67.227.127.113
185.205.196.57
199.168.122.42
186.179.27.9
185.193.75.105
216.10.3.10
216.10.2.161
185.188.77.24
104.233.48.70
185.188.79.15
186.179.2.186
181.177.72.76
216.10.6.205
186.179.13.13
181.177.78.227
181.177.72.12
181.177.79.141
186.179.25.210
104.233.49.36
104.249.3.157
104.239.117.199
104.233.48.52
104.233.51.106
216.10.3.78
216.10.0.49
185.207.99.161
67.227.120.127
67.227.121.26
104.233.55.225
104.249.3.194
185.195.220.41
181.177.71.84
104.233.48.111
104.249.2.46
181.177.67.170
104.249.2.195
186.179.13.80
67.227.124.74
104.239.116.151
104.239.119.180
185.195.221.180
104.249.2.99
104.239.114.190
104.239.117.112
181.177.71.49
67.227.121.109
199.168.121.93
185.195.223.14
181.177.67.30
181.177.76.63
181.177.77.79
181.177.66.29
181.177.77.197
186.179.24.252
185.196.188.94
181.177.76.62
216.10.7.75
181.177.68.33
186.179.11.165
181.177.71.188
185.195.213.87
185.193.74.97
67.227.122.57
185.196.189.63
216.10.1.142
199.168.122.193
186.179.2.117
181.177.72.134
181.177.66.212
185.188.77.122
185.207.96.121
199.168.121.246
104.249.0.31
185.195.222.160 Potential Mitigation Strategies Web administrators are urged to monitor their logs for suspicious activity involving the Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) user-agent string and IPs associated with the above ASNs. Immediate actions to consider include: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) Blocking or rate-limiting the offending IPs through firewall rules. Implementing CAPTCHA systems for suspicious traffic. Using bot protection plugins or services such as Cloudflare to prevent excessive scraping. Blocking or rate-limiting the offending IPs through firewall rules. Blocking or rate-limiting the offending IPs through firewall rules. Implementing CAPTCHA systems for suspicious traffic. Implementing CAPTCHA systems for suspicious traffic. Using bot protection plugins or services such as Cloudflare to prevent excessive scraping. Using bot protection plugins or services such as Cloudflare to prevent excessive scraping. The persistence of this botnet highlights the importance of continually refining web security measures to protect digital assets from unauthorized data scraping and potential attacks. This unknown botnet's activity is a pressing issue for WordPress site owners, and if left unchecked, its presence could lead to server overloads, data leaks, or even downtime for many websites. Interestingly, despite the aggressive nature of this botnet, none of the associated IPs have been flagged or reported in popular databases like AbuseIPDB. Even more surprising, these IPs are not natively blocked by Cloudflare’s managed rules, which typically catch such malicious behavior early on. This suggests that the botnet is currently flying under the radar, operating in a gray zone of anonymity. The lack of detection and reporting raises concerns about how sophisticated and stealthy this botnet may be. For now, it seems to be an entirely unknown entity in the cybersecurity landscape. However, it does seem look like it is scraping WordPress content. unknown entity

Hot off the press! This story contains factual information about a recent event.

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